Wronged
by snowsa
Summary: When her mother suddenly decides it's time to move, Clary is determined to find out why. And when a mysterious blond boy and his shadowhunter family meet her, they just assume she's another mundie. Clary knows nothing of their world.. Full summary inside
1. The Arrival

**A/N: Hello again, my little fanfiction friends. For those of you reading any of my other stories, don't worry. I'm still working on them. But I've had this idea in my head for a while, and I really felt the need to write it down. (Well, type it down, anyways.)**

**Full Summary:**** When her mother suddenly decides it's time to move, Clary is determined to find out why. And when a mysterious blond boy and his shadowhunter family meet her, they just assume she's another mundie. Clary knows nothing of their world, but when Jace starts falling for the forbidden girl, and strange things start coming after her, they're all determined to figure out what's going on and who Clary really is.**

**Sadly, no, I'm not Cassandra Clare, which means I really don't own too much of this. And if I was Cassandra Clare, I wouldn't be wasting my time with this.**

**Songs:**

**Follow Me Down- 3OH!3 ft. Neon Hitch**

**Heard The World- O.A.R**

**Clary POV**

When I first saw the moving truck in front of our house, I just assumed they were in the wrong place. When my mother told me to just bring the important things, I just assumed we were going on a vacation or something. But when she brought out the boxes, I knew something was wrong.

My mother, Jocelyn, had been acting weird for almost a week. She was always edgy and paranoid, and she snapped at me over the smallest things. But when she started packing her clothes, I realized something was wrong.

"Clary, stop arguing with me. Just take this boxes and go pack your clothes. Don't bring anything else except your clothes and your sketchbook." When I opened my mouth to protest, she glared at me. "_Now._" She told me in a tone that left no room for arguing.

I've never understood a lot of the stuff my mother does, but when she gets like this, I know something serious is going on. And although I didn't want to, I went up the stairs with the boxes she'd given me and started throwing my clothes haphazardly into them.

The fact that I couldn't bring anything except clothes and my sketchbook was kind of upsetting, but I wasn't going to argue with my mother. I could hear her rushing around downstairs, packing the essentials and probably making a mess of what we weren't bringing.

So now here I was, leaning my head against the window of our car as I'd been doing for the past three hours. Luke was behind us, driving my car.

I can hardly remember a time in my life when Luke wasn't there, he's always been like my father. At first I'd assumed he was coming with us, but my mom said he was just driving my car to our new house and making sure we got settled.

In a situation like this, a normal person would be questioning like mad. But my mom can be kind of scary when she wants to be, and right now she was giving off the Don't-ask-any-questions-or-your-dead vibe. And when she gives off a vibe, you listen to it.

I'm not sure when I fell asleep, but I guess I did. When there's nothing to do in a car and it turns out to be, like, ten-thirty at night, I guess that's what happens.

I was being shaken awake by my mother when I finally opened my eyes. "Clary, come on. We're here." I sat up a little groggily and looked at the clock on the dashboard. One fifteen in the morning. Which meant we'd spent almost twelve hours driving.

My mother was already out of the car and opening the back of the moving truck, but I took a chance to look around first.

The house looked old and was built with gray wood, kind of like you'd expect a beach house (that wasn't owned by the rich) to look. It was two stories with a small wraparound porch, and even in the dark the grass looked a little yellow. The back of the house was surrounded by woods, and there were only two other houses that I could see, one next to us and another across the street.

"Clary!" My mother's stern voice broke through. "Get some of the boxes out of here and put them in the house." I sighed as I turned away and went over to the moving truck.

It looked kind of sad and lonely, since there weren't too many boxes. It made me feel a little better to know that our house didn't look like that; To know that our house wasn't lonely and empty. And hey, at least the next people who lived there wouldn't have to go and buy a bunch of new furniture.

I was still exhausted, so carrying the boxes into the house happened in a kind of haze for me. All I remember was seeing that there was also furniture in this house, and then after all of the boxes were inside I crashed right onto the couch and immediately fell asleep.

* * *

When I woke up in the morning, I heard my mom and Luke whispering in the kitchen. Well, I was guessing it was the kitchen. It almost sounded like they were arguing, and I could tell they didn't want me to hear.

But they didn't know I was awake, and so what do I do? I go and eavesdrop. I hid behind the wall near the archway.

"She's going to get suspicious, Jocelyn. You know her, Clary's going to want to know what's going on. You're going to have to tell her _something._"

"Yes, I'm going to have to tell her something, but it doesn't have to be the truth."

"Jocelyn!" Luke's whisper sounded exasperated. "You can't keep lying to her. She deserves to know the truth."

"Luke, I'm not going to tell her something that's just going to put her in more danger. He's already found us more than once, but if Clary knows the truth it will be that much easier for him."

Luke sighed. "I can't tell you how to raise your daughter, Jocelyn. Just know that one day she's going to find out, and it won't be pretty."

I heard a chair squeak as someone pushed it across the floor; I assumed Luke was getting up. I skittered silently back to the couch and lay down just in time. I heard Luke come into the living room, pause, and then I heard him walking to the door and opening it. It slammed closed, and I could have sworn it was intentional, like he knew I was awake and was giving me an excuse to get up.

I sat up and feigned a yawn just as my mom came into the room. She gave me a weary and tired smile and said, "We should start unpacking. But before we do, why don't you go see the rest of the house? You barely got in before you fell asleep last night."

As I looked through the rest of the house, I still got that old beach house feeling. There were two bathrooms, almost all the flooring throughout the whole house was that gray wood, and the furniture seemed old yet comfortable. I think the most modern part was actually the living room, which had both a fireplace and a large T.V.

It didn't take very long to unpack, but by the time we were done my lower back ached a little from all the bending over.

"Why don't you go outside and draw something, Clary? You may not like this place, but you have to admit that it's got beautiful landscape for drawing."

I smiled. "Yeah, I guess it does."

So I went outside and sat on the back lawn with my sketchbook and my pencils. At first I wasn't really sure what to draw, but for some reason I started sketching the house next door to ours. The light was hitting it perfectly, (which yeah, I know, sounds cliched and something exactly you'd expect an artist to say) so I just started drawing it. I'm not sure how long I sat there, but I was suddenly interrupted by a shadow falling across the page.

I looked up to see a very tall girl with straight black hair and an almost heart shaped face. She was strikingly beautiful and slightly intimidating.

"Hi." I said meekly. "I'm Clary."

The girl looked at me speculatively, then asked, "Did you guys just move in?"

I nodded. "Yeah, last night."

She smiled. "So I _did_ hear something last night. I was getting a little paranoid and my brothers thought I was going insane."

I stood up and smiled back. "No, you weren't going insane. Although anyone who thinks we need to drive for twelve hours just to get to a new house _is _insane." I said, gesturing towards the house.

She smiled again and stuck out her hand for me to shake. "I'm Isabelle Lightwood. We live next door."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out." I said as I shook her hand.

"So where'd you guys move from?"

I'd expected this question, and I was about to answer, but then I remembered something my mom had said while we were in the car.

"_If anyone asks, you tell them we came from West Virginia."_

"_....Why?"_

"_Just do it, Clary. West Virginia, okay?"_

"We came here from a pretty small town in West Virginia." I felt kind of bad lying to someone I barely knew, especially considering she was being so nice to me.

"Well, at least you're familiar with small towns. When we first moved here from New York, I almost went insane. I couldn't stand how quiet it was, and it rains so much. But I think it's starting to grow on me."

We went through all the usual questions, like how long she'd been here, why they moved, what our favorite things were. But when she got to the question, "Why'd you guys move?" I was struck dumb. I'd meant to ask my mom, but there hadn't really been any openings. And besides, from what I'd heard this morning, even if I'd asked I'm not sure she would have told me the truth.

I looked away, into the forest, and furrowed my brow. "To be honest, I'm not really sure. I think my mom just wanted a change in scenery." At least the first part was true.

"Hmm. Yeah, my mom wan-"

She was interrupted by a shout. "Izzy!"

Isabelle sighed. "I'm over here!" She shouted back. "I'm talking to the new neighbor."

A kind of tan, brown haired boy who looked a lot like Isabelle, came around the corner. He looked me over and raised an eyebrow. "New neighbor?" He asked.

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Yes, that's what I just said. And yes, I _did_ hear something last night. So ha!"

The boy rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine, you weren't hallucinating." Then he looked at me. "Hello, new neighbor girl. I'm Isabelle's brother, Alec."

"Actually, my name is Clary." I said as I shook his hand. "A lot shorter than new neighbor girl, don't you think?"

He smiled and then looked over at his sister. "Izzy, mom says she needs you to help her clean out the basement or something."

"Well why can't you help? I'm busy welcoming the new neighbors."

Alec rolled his eyes. "I can't help because Jace and I have to clean out the garage." He looked over at me and rolled his eyes. "Spring cleaning or something."

"But I can't leave this poor little girl to wander around all by herself."

"Hey!" I said indignantly. "I'm seventeen. I'm pretty sure I can 'wander' by myself just fine."

"Shh. You're my excuse. Just pretend you're like, a twelve year old or something." Isabelle mock-whispered.

Alec looked at me, confused. "You're really seventeen?"

I rolled my eyes and sighed, annoyed. "Yes, really. I'm small, okay? I get it."

They both smiled. "Yeah, I think that's pretty obvious." Alec said. I glared at him. "Hey, no need to get all defensive."

"Alec, go away. Stop insulting our new neighbor."

Alec rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay. Just get inside soon, before mom comes to drag you out by your hair."

"I wouldn't put it past her." Isabelle muttered.

Alec laughed. "Wouldn't put it past her? Don't you remember that time when you were five, and it was raining out but you refused to come inside because you were playing with-"

"Okay, I think that's enough for storytime." Isabelle said with her hand over Alec's mouth, laughing a little nervously.

"Izzy! Alec! What's taking you guys so long?" I heard a velvet voice shout.

A golden haired boy suddenly popped out of their garage and started walking towards the three of us. He was taller than his siblings, and had much more muscle than them. He was tan and his eyes shone gold, and he was obviously handsome. It was also obvious that he knew it.

When he got to us, he delicately raised an eyebrow at me, just as Alec had. "And who's this?" He asked, still staring at me.

"Jace, this is our new neighbor, Clary. Be nice to her. We don't want to scare her off on her first day here. And besides, she's the first girl around here even remotely close to my age that we've had in a while."

The boy, Jace, I guess, raised an eyebrow again. "Izzy, I'm not sure I'd consider thirteen close to our age. What, do they need a babysitter or something?"

I rolled my eyes and looked away, muttering something about how people need to get used to the fact that not every girl can be six feet tall.

"She's seventeen, Jace."

I still wasn't looking at him, but I could tell he was smirking. "Really? Are you sure."

I turned so I could glare at him. "Okay, we've already had this conversation. But since I'm not a complete _asshat_, I'll say it again." Now I started talking slowly, as if he was five years old. "Yes, I am small. No, I'm not twelve. Yes, I'm short for my age. And no, that _still _doesn't make me twelve years old. Yes, I'm really seventeen. Does that clear it all up for you?"

"Hmm. Asshat. That's a new one. Do you have a speech issue or something?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you can't seem to talk at a normal speed. So either you're completely struck dumb by my amazing looks or you have some speech issues."

"No, I do not have speech issues, and I'm definitely not 'struck dumb' by your looks. Especially since I think blond hair is superficial." I didn't really believe that, but I threw it in there anyways. "And as you can see, I can talk at a perfectly normal speed. I just thought you needed some slower talk to penetrate that thick skull of yours."

I could see Isabelle beaming out of the corner of my eyes. "I can tell I'm going to like you, Clary."

"I think I'm going to like her too. She seems......fun." I heard Jace murmur. I glared at him.

"Okay, before someone gets their eyes clawed out, let's go help mom. Or I _will_ tell that little story from when you were five......" Alec said. Isabelle turned to give him and annoyed look and sighed.

"Fine. I'll see you later, Clary." She said as she started to walk away.

"Yeah, see you later Annie." Jace said as he started walking away. "Oh, nice drawing, by the way." He called over his shoulder.

I looked down at my sketchbook, which was still lying on the ground. I hadn't known I'd left it there.

And by the time I'd finally registered what he'd said, he was almost already back to his house. "Annie?" I shouted.

He just laughed and shouted back, "Either that or I could call you Shirley."

Was I just nicknamed after Little Orphan Annie?

Yeah. Awesome neighbors. Sure.

**Sorry. Nothing epic in this chapter. But there's going to be some drama between Clary and her mom in the next chapter......**

**What do ya say about pressing the awesomely awesome green button right below this and telling me if I should continue? I'm not totally sure if this is good or not........**


	2. Lies

**A/N: So I got some pretty interesting reviews. Thanks to all of you, even if you just alerted or favorited it. I feel so special.....Well, no, not really, but whatever. You get the point.**

**So anyways, here's the next chapter........**

**Songs:**

**Again- Flyleaf**

**Hallelujah- Paramore**

**Jace POV**

I don't think we've had new neighbors since we moved here three years ago, and certainly not anyone as interesting as little orphan Annie.

It was a little weird though, Izzy told me that they'd moved in at two in the morning last night and she said that the girl wasn't sure why they'd moved. Now, from what I'd seen, the redhead didn't seem like she'd be a very good liar.

Then again, she didn't seem like the kind who'd be very feisty, either. But she was.

"Hey Jace, look what I just found." I went over to Alec and he pulled something out from a bunch a dusty boxes. It took me a moment to realize what it was.

"That was my first stele, wasn't it?" I asked, glancing at it in wonder.

"Yeah, I think it was. I didn't know mom had kept it."

"Neither did I. Then again, it looks like Mayrse kept _everything._" I said, looking around the garage. There were boxes piled everywhere and things that should have been thrown out long ago strewn everywhere.

I picked up a baby shoe that I was pretty sure had been Isabelle's. "Really? She kept this? What, was she planning on needing it again?"

Alec shuddered. "God, I hope not. There is no way I'm going back on babysitting duty. Especially not for a Lightwood kid."

I raised an eyebrow. "Alec, you _are_ a Lightwood kid."

"Yeah, and you see how well _that's_ turned out."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, well you still turned out better than me."

"True. At least I know what the words 'good manners' mean."

I rolled my eyes again. "When you look this good, no one cares whether you have good manners or not." I flashed him a grin.

He snorted. "You know, after so long, a person can get really tired of hearing that."

"But after so long, a person can't get tired of looking at me."

I ducked just as Alec threw the stele at me. As I stood back up, I smirked. "And after so long, my reflexes just seem to be getting better."

"Yeah, and that's only because you've had so much practice avoiding objects that are getting thrown at you." Alec muttered.

I grinned again. "That _might_ be true."

Alec rolled his eyes. "Let's just keep cleaning, huh? I don't want to spend all day doing this."

"Oh, but then you wouldn't get to spend all day with me."

"Jace. Shut up. Just shut up."

I smirked. "Fine. But in ten minutes you'll be begging to hear my beautiful voice again."

Alec sighed. "Jace, I know you're always full of yourself, but this is a little much. Even for you."

"Fine. I'll be quiet."

"Yeah, I wonder how long _that's_ gonna last." I heard him mutter.

* * *

**Clary POV**

I finally breached the subject during dinner that night. I think my mom saw it coming, because she sighed and put down her fork, folding her hands together like she was praying.

Yeah, probably praying that I'd shut up.

"Mom, I think you know exactly what I'm going to ask."

"You want to know why we moved." She stated, her face expressionless.

"That, and why you didn't tell me. And when you're done with that, you can tell me why we had to leave all our stuff and burn all our pictures."

She sighed. "We left because I thought it was time for a change of scenery. I didn't tell you because it was so unexpected, even to myself. I hadn't made up my mind until the day before. And I knew you'd want to say goodbye to all your friends, and I knew that would be hard for you. As for why we left all our stuff, it was because I knew there was furniture here. And we burned the pictures because then the next family wouldn't have to."

"If you'd only decided the day before that we'd be moving, then how'd you know this house would have furniture in it already?" I questioned, quirking an eyebrow.

Her face remained impassive. "Because this used to be Luke's old house, and he still owns it. He told me all about it."

This time I was the one that sighed. "Every single one of those answers you just gave me is a lie, except for maybe the last one, which I really have no way of proving since you won't let me call anyone."

"Think what you want, Clary, but those are the only answers you're getting."

"Why can't you just tell me the truth, Mom?" I shouted, exasperated.

Her face hardened. "I am telling you the truth, Clary."

"Stop lying!" I was really starting to get frustrated.

"Clarissa, I'm your mother and I'm telling you to just accept that that's the truth."

"Look, I get that you think I'm too young and naive to hear what's really going on, but I'm not. I can handle it."

Mom sat back in her chair, suddenly looking weary and cautious at the same time. "No, Clary, you can't. So what I just told you is what you're going to tell anyone that asks."

I knew she wasn't going to say anything else, so I stood up and stormed out the door, slamming it behind me. I knew I was being melodramatic, but I didn't really care.

"Hey, Annie."

"Now's not the time, Lightwood." I didn't have to look to know who it was.

He came and sat next to me on the porch. "Actually, technically my last name is Wayland."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Now's not the time, _Wayland_."

He smirked. "Much better. Now you want to tell me _why_ now's not the time?"

I sighed, still not looking at him. "No, I don't want to tell you why." I finally looked at him, discovering that his eyes were even more beautiful up close. "In fact, I really don't want to tell you anything at all."

"You know, you seem like the person that would care that they're coming off as a complete bitch. You also seem like the type of person who_ isn't_ a complete bitch."

I sighed again. "I'm not. But today just isn't a good day." I looked at him speculatively. "And you just bring out the bitchy side in me, Wayland."

He smirked. "Oh, I do, do I?"

I glared at him, and then sighed for the millionth time that night, abruptly exhausted. "Just go away."

"Oh, come on, don't be that way."

"Just go away! We barely know each other, but I _know_ you don't care. And I know that you're a cocky bastard that's just trying to screw with me." I turned to look him straight in the eye. "And just to let you know, you _can't_ screw with me. I'm not that easy."

He held up his hands in a Whoa-I-mean-no-harm gesture. "Hey, I was just trying to be neighborly. You seemed upset. Now if you don't want to tell me what's wrong, that's fine. But if you do, I'll just be sitting here."

I stared at him for a few more seconds, then looked away. We sat in silence for a few more minutes before I finally said, "My own mother won't even tell me what the hell is going on. It's like she's turned into a compulsive liar or something."

He was silent for a few moments before responding. "Maybe she just thinks the truth is going to hurt you too much."

"I don't care!" I almost shouted. "I just want to know why she never told me we were moving and why we couldn't bring anything and why she was freaking out and why we had to burn all our pictures and why....." I trailed off, exasperated, and put my head on my knees. "I just want to know why my mother decided to just up and rip my life apart." I said weakly. "Is that too much to ask for?" I asked, lifting my head. "I think I deserve to know, but no, my mom thinks I'm too naive and stupid to even_ begin_ to understand."

"I'm sure she doesn't think that."

"And how exactly would you know?" I asked wearily. I was _so_ tired of all this, even if it had barely been a day. It seemed like so much longer.

Jace sighed. "I wouldn't. But you don't seem like the kind of person anyone could think of as naive." He looked me up and down. "_Especially_ once you open your mouth."

I looked away and took a deep breath. "You're acting like a normal person. It's kind of freaking me out."

He gave me a genuine smile. "I have my moments."

I rolled my eyes and half smiled. "Very rare moments, I'll bet."

He shrugged. "I do what I can."

We stayed silent for a few more moments, just sitting there. The silence wasn't awkward, but I could feel some of his body heat radiating off of him. "Hey, are you finally gonna go away now?"

He chuckled. "Now why would I do that, Annie? I obviously have to stay here to make sure you don't do something drastic."

"It's_ Clary_, you idiot. CLAR-Y. C-L-A-R-Y." I spelled it out.

Jace shrugged again. "Hey, I told you, it's either Annie or Shirley." He said, taking one of my red curls and twirling it between his fingers before letting go of it. "Personally, I like Annie. Shirley sounds like a porn actress to me."

I sighed. "Fine. I guess I'm calling you Goldilocks, then."

He looked a little insulted. "Hey!" He said indignantly. "Goldilocks was an idiotic girl that broke into someone's house and felt the need to eat their porridge and sleep in their beds. I don't plan on _ever_ doing that."

I considered for a moment. "I wouldn't put breaking and entering past you. But fine, I'll just call you King Asshat. And as soon as you stop calling me Annie, I'll stop calling you King Asshat."

"Fine. _Clary._ Goodnight."

I smirked. "Goodnight, _Jace_."

He got up and started walking towards his house. When he was almost inside, he shouted over his shoulder, "See you tomorrow, Annie_._"

Right as he was about to close the front door, I shouted back, "Yeah, see ya, King of the asshats ." I heard him groan as he shut the door, and I allowed myself another smirk.

I sat there for probably another hour or so, just staring at the sky or the road or the house across the street in which I had yet to meet the inhabitants.

I was actually surprised, Jace had made me feel a little better. I barely knew him, but it was pretty obvious he wasn't exactly what you'd call the 'caring' type. But I guess almost everyone has their fleeting moments.

Question is, how many fleeting moments are those kinds of people allotted?

"Clary, you should come in now. You have school in the morning."

I rolled my eyes and snorted. "Just another thing you conveniently failed to tell me."

As I walked up the stairs to my new room, I thought about howI had no idea what I was going to do about my mother. I could hardly _force_ her tell me, and I knew she wasn't going to do it on her own. Which only left one option: Figure it out myself.

* * *

**Jace POV**

That girl was definitely a feisty one. It was kind of amusing, really, and the whole making me stop calling her Annie by calling me something incredibly weird thing was actually pretty smart.

Not that it really worked. With her fiery red hair and her bright green eyes, she reminded me _way_ too much of orphan Annie.

"Jace, go to sleep already." I heard Izzy say. I was sitting on the couch in our basement, just staring at the T.V., not really watching it. "Weekend's over, Jace. We have school tomorrow."

I rolled my eyes. "I still don't under-"

"Yes, I know you still don't understand why we have to go to high school, let alone with mundanes. I know, Jace, and I don't know why either. But not _all_ mundies are horrible, Jace. Like Clary, for instance. She seems fun. And she also doesn't even seem remotely affected by you."

"Oh, I think she was. She's just good at hiding it."

She rolled her eyes and said, "I think _you _were more affected by _her_ than she was by you."

I widened my eyes slightly. "What would make you say that?"

"Oh, please. I know you were with her tonight, and considering she didn't punch you in the face, I'm assuming you were being a normal human being to her. And that's a new one."

"Oh, Izzy, I could _never_ be a normal human being. I'm too good looking for that." I flashed her a grin as she picked up a pillow and threw it at me.

"Just go to bed already. There's no way I'm lugging your half-dead body around tomorrow." She called as she walked up the stairs.

I grinned as I thought about how I would probably see Clary tomorrow. If she was seventeen, that would mean she was either in my grade or the year below, which would also mean that I'll probably see her a lot.

Izzy was right, Clary _had_ had an effect on me, a bigger one that I'd like to admit. There was just something about her that made her impossible to forget. But she was just a mundie, one that had enough to deal with without any Nephilim getting in her way.

Not that it really mattered. I didn't even feel like we were Nephilim anymore, there were never any demons in this place. Occasionally, Alec, Izzy, and I would go out of state for the weekend and hunt down a few problems demons, but it was never more than that. Sometimes I felt like that was the reason Mayrse and Robert moves us here, to get us away from all the demons.

Though I didn't really understand that, but I guess that didn't matter to them.

"Jace! Bed!" Izzy shouted. I swear, she's only alive to boss me around.

**Okay, so Clary has no idea that she even remotely feels anything towards Jace. And Jace feels something towards Clary, but he doesn't really know what it is.......**

**I'm still not sure if I should continue this. The next chapter is already written, so just let me know if I should post it or not.**


	3. Cupcakes

**A/N: Thanks to all of the reviewers! I feel all warm and fuzzy inside when I read them.......**

**And, amazingly, I have nothing else to say. (That's a first, eh?) Except that after this chapter, I really wanted a cookie. Which is weird, because it didn't really involve cookies. But whatever.  
**

**Songs:**

**Thinkin' Bout You- Mario ft. Kelly Rowland **

**I Caught Myself- Paramore**

**Clary POV**

Starting at a new school when they're already a fourth of the way through the year? Kinda sucks. Being surrounded by bitchy yet intimidatingly gorgeous and scarily tall girls all day? _Really_ sucks. Listening to Isabelle talk about how she was going to take me shopping this weekend? That didn't suck. That was just really annoying.

The school was a lot smaller than my old one in New York, but the little town we lived in now was right on the outskirts of a huge city so the school had a moderate population.

Though size wasn't the only difference. Yes, in New York there were the flirts and the jocks and the few people who were complete and total bitches, but I swear that ninety percent of the girls in this school didn't even know what the word 'nice' meant.

All morning, I had to give the same speech over and over again. "Hi, I'm Clary Fray and my mom and I just moved here from West Virginia." It was getting pretty boring, having to say that.

I was a little worried about lunch in the morning, but thankfully Izzy was in my fourth hour class, which was right before my lunch hour.

"Don't worry, new kids are always worried about lunch the most. You can sit with me and my friends." I'd smiled gratefully.

I'd brought my own lunch, mainly because I was kind of afraid of what they had at the school. Izzy looked at my bagel with envy, then stared down at her own lunch.

"I'm not even sure what this_ is._" She said, poking it with her fork.

Suddenly the table was full of people, and when I looked up Jace was sitting right next to me. "Having fun today, Annie?" He murmured to me.

"Not yet, King Asshat. But if I start, I'll be sure to tell you." He rolled his eyes as he turned to his lunch.

Izzy started introducing me to everyone. "This is Sebastian, Maia, Eric, Aline, Cait, Kyle, and of course you know Alec and Jace." I looked over next to Isabelle; I hadn't even realized Alec was here. "Everyone, this is our new neighbor, Clary." I waved to everyone. I vaguely recognized Sebastian, I was pretty sure he was in my English class. And I knew Maia and Kyle were in my Spanish class.

When I looked at Eric, though, I felt a pang of sadness. He looked like the geekiest of the group, and he incredibly reminded me of my best friend from home, Simon.

I was about to say something to them all, I felt someone pushing my chair aside and shoving in her own between mine and Jace's. I looked over at her, but all I could see was the back of her blond head. She threw her tray down on the table and immediately put her arms around Jace. He grunted and looked like he wanted to push her off. I rolled my eyes and looked away and saw Izzy doing the same thing.

"And that's Kaelie." She muttered. I nodded slowly and took a bite of my bagel and Kaelie finally released her chokehold on Jace.

She sighed happily, and whined, "Weekends are so _boring_ without you, Jace. I always miss you." Jace rolled his eyes and muttered something unintelligible.

Kyle, who was sitting next to me, leaned over and whispered, "If you think this makes you sick, wait 'til he's in one of his bad moods. Then they're all over each other."

I looked over at him and grimaced. "Oh, joy!" I said in a sarcastically cheery voice.

He smiled, and I was surprised at how white his teeth were. Kyle had dark brown hair that was arranged messily in that 'just-woke-up-but-I-still-look-good' way, and his skin was almost as pale as mine. His eyes were a pale blue, and he was obviously tall. From his muscles, I assumed he probably played football or something.

"Who's _this_?" I heard someone sneer. I looked over at her. Yes, she was beautiful, but it was obvious she used a lot of makeup to get that way. She looked about the same height as Isabelle, and though I hated to admit it, it was obvious that all those vain guys would go after her. She had the figure all guys wanted, and she showed off more cleavage than necessary.

"Kaelie, this is Clary Fray. She just moved here, and she's our new neighbor." Jace explained.

She looked at me with a smirk on her face. "What, the genius twelve year old is living next door to you?"

I opened my mouth to snap a reply, but Jace beat me to it. "Actually, Kaelie, Clary's seventeen. She's a junior, just like Izzy. And yes, she's our new neighbor." He sounded annoyed, but I wasn't sure if it was because of me or Kaelie.

She stared at me for a few more seconds, then looked over at Jace. "Well, make sure you close your curtains at night. Wouldn't want little stalker girl over here to get any ideas about my merchandise."

I looked over at Izzy. _Little stalker girl? _I mouthed. She shrugged meekly, like she really didn't know what to say.

"I wasn't aware that I was anyone's merchandise but my own, Kaelie." Jace said coolly, looking at the wall across the cafeteria.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, of course not, silly. All of this," She said coyly, running her manicured nails down Jace's bicep and onto his chest, "Belongs to _me_."

I rolled my eyes and kept eating, trying not to listen to them and instead join the conversation the others were having. This girl was completely _ridiculous. _And it seemed like she was completely clueless, too. I was going to say something that was slightly rude to her, something along the lines of 'he's not interested you slut, so why don't you get your hands off him,' but I caught myself

I could tell Jace was trying to change the subject. He looked at me and asked, "So, did you even remotely pay attention to the Italian Rebellion today in History?"

I was confused for a moment, and he grinned. "You're in AP history, little miss genius. You're in the same class as me."

My mouth formed a silent 'Oh'. "No, I didn't really pay attention. At my old school, I learned that when I was a freshman." I was going to back to eating my bagel, but I set it back down as I remembered something. "Hey, does that mean you're in my Biology class, too?"

Jace raised an eyebrow. "That depends. Do you have Biology next hour?" I nodded and he smiled. A real, genuine smile that made my heart skip a beat. "Then yes, Annie, we do have Biology together."

Kaelie leaned over and whispered something in Jace's ear. He took her hand of his stomach, where he'd stopped it as it started to creep lower. "I don't belong to anyone." He drawled. "And I certainly don't plan on going into the woods with you after lunch."

Izzy and Sebastian burst out laughing as Kaelie turned red and leaned grumpily back in her seat. I half-smiled, and she turned to glare at me. "What exactly are _you_ laughing at?"

"Your attempt to get yourself laid. I find it amusing how _badly_ it went."

She glared at me again and said, "Yeah, cuz I'm sure _you_, little miss virgin princess, would know_ all _about it."

I shrugged. "Better a virgin than a whore."

Gee, my first day and I'm already calling people names.

Then again, this girl obviously deserved it. And since no one else would......

She gasped, but recovered quickly. "Yeah, well at least I'm hot enough to get a guy to even _look_ at me."

I made an angry noise, and looked around the table. My eye was immediately caught by something. I looked up and said, "Izzy, I'll buy you a new cupcake tomorrow."

Then I picked up the large blue and gold cupcake that was sitting on Isabelle's tray and promptly shoved it straight into Kaelie's face.

Then I got up and walked straight out of the cafeteria, a smirk on my face as I left behind the echoes of laughter.

**Jace POV**

As I watched her walk out, I couldn't help but laugh. Kaelie looked so ridiculous as she tried to scrape icing off her face, whining something about her makeup being completely messed up.

"Jace, why did you let her do that?"

"I don't have control over what other people do. Maybe if you hadn't been so rude to her, this wouldn't have happened."

"Are you actually _agreeing_ with her?!?!" Kaelie shrieked.

I laughed a little and pretended to consider it. "Yeah. I think I am."

She glared at us all and then got up, grumbling something about getting the bitch back and how inconsiderate we all were.

Watching her storm out was not nearly as fun as watching Clary storm out, but it was still nice to be rid of the girl. She was like an annoyingly incessant fly or something. Yes, she was a good way to pass the time when I needed it, but she was getting too attached.

"Now do you guys see why we like Clary?" Isabelle asked, still laughing.

"Oh yeah. Fiery redhead, isn't she?" Sebastian said, also still laughing.

"Hey, if she does that every day, I'll love her forever." Kyle joked. Something about him saying that made me a little uncomfortable, though I'm not sure why.

As they meandered into meaningless chatter, I let my mind wander. How in the world did I get here? I went from being Jace Wayland the fearless shadowhunter to Jace Wayland, high school student. I sat with a werewolf, a faerie, and a bunch of mundanes.

I'd hated the idea at first, but after two and a half years, even mundies can begin to grow on you. When I'd first realized that I didn't consider them completely below me, I'd tried to ignore them and I acted like a total ass. (Not that I'm not an ass.) But when I realized that throwing a tantrum wasn't going to change anything, that we were stuck here for good, I figured it was probably better that I have some people to talk to instead of just being one of those pathetic friendless loners.

I couldn't help but feel a little sad that Clary had left, and I figured she was probably pretty hungry considering she'd left her lunch here.

Making a snap decision, I picked up her lunch and walked out of the cafeteria, most likely leaving curious stares behind me.

I wasn't exactly sure where she would be, but then I remembered what she'd been doing when I'd first met her. I went outside over to the sunny area of the courtyard, where I found her sitting on top of a picnic table. She didn't hear me coming, and when I set her lunch on the table she jumped a little and shut her sketchbook.

"Sorry."

She smiled a little. "It's fine. I just didn't expect anyone to come out here."

I smiled back. "Well I couldn't let my new neighbor starve on her first day, now could I?" I teased, hopping up next to her on the table.

She picked up her bagel and started eating. "Fanks." She mumbled through a mouthful of food.

We sat in silence for a few minutes while she finished eating. "So that was a pretty amusing stunt you pulled in there." I finally said.

She grimaced. "Yeah. My first day here and I already made an enemy."

"Hey." I said softly, bumping her shoulder against mine. "She deserved it."

Clary's face hardened into an angry mask. I didn't like seeing her like that. "Yeah. She did deserve it." Her voice wavered a little.

"Clary." I waited until she looked at me to continue. "Kaelie says a lot of bullshit all the time. She's just not a very nice person and she gets jealous of almost every girl. She thinks that she needs to be wanted by everyone, and she doesn't like it when people get in the way of that. What she said in there, it's not true." I took a lock of her hair into my hand and twirled it. It glimmered in the sun, with little natural highlights of blond in it. "You're beautiful. And I know a lot of the guys in that cafeteria want to do a lot more than just look at you."

She blushed and I smiled. I was really only telling her the truth, I'd heard a bunch of guys talking about her all day. And every time I'd heard them say something, I'd gotten a little bit angry. But being with Clary seemed to make me completely calm, like nothing had ever happened. I could tell what I'd said embarrassed her, so I let go of her hair as she looked away. Just as I was about to say something, the bell rang and she quickly jumped up.

"Time for Biology."

* * *

Apparently today was my lucky day, because Clary got placed as my lab partner. Her face still seemed a little pink, but I wasn't sure if that was because of the weather or because of what I'd said.

Even after Biology, I couldn't get her out of my head. This was very unusual for me, but there was something about her.....

It was obvious that she was shy and that she had no idea how beautiful she was. You could tell she cared and that she would stand up for anything she wanted. She had a scarily vulnerable side, but she also had a strong-willed and angry side that would fight if she needed to.

I swear, I think Clary is the most complicated girl I'd ever met. I didn't really believe she was from West Virginia, she always hesitated before she said that. But why would she lie? The only people who lied about where they were from were criminals and people who were in the Witness Protection Program. And I really couldn't see her in either of those situations.

But when I really thought about it, I realized I didn't know much about her. I knew a little of her personality, and I knew she liked to draw and that she was very good at it.

For some reason, that didn't seem to make a difference. I felt some uncontrollable pull towards her, like she needed my help or something.

Although from the look of what had happened at lunch that day, it didn't seem like Clary needed help from _anyone_. Especially when you considered the look on Kaelie's face throughout the rest of the day. _If looks could kill._

As I got to my car, I heard Kaelie muttering to her friends, (Who were really her minions) "We're going to get that bitch for what she did. And I don't even know why Jace defended her. I think he feels bad for her or something, like he's taken to acting like a big brother to her."

Brotherly was the exact opposite of what I felt towards Clary.

I knew that Kaelie and her friends would be planning something, and I knew that Kaelie could have a pretty evil mind sometimes, but I wasn't particularly worried for Clary. She could take care of herself.

Just as long as Kaelie didn't get help from anyone with a smarted mind. If she did, then Clary was probably screwed.

Ah, the damage a cupcake can do.

**So there you go! Clary's still pretty clueless, though maybe after that conversation with Jace, she may be realizing some things......**

**So someone gave me a review saying there needs to be more fluff. Don't worry, I'm getting there. But if everything happened that fast, I think it would be a little unrealistic. But review and tell me what you thought of this chapter! Pretty pretty please? And who knows, say something interesting and maybe I'll mention it in the next chapter.  
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	4. Brownies or Cookies?

**A/N: Tee hee. I finally managed to convince my friend to watch this one scary movie, and she got so freaked out she made me sleep with the lights on. Scary movies never scare me, but after so long all of my friends refuse to watch them with me. I mean sure, I don't really have any issues with watching them alone, but it's just not as fun. They're depriving me!!**

**Anywho.....Thanks to all the reviewers! (And I guess I kind of have to say thanks to all of those who favorited and alerted this story, too)**

**And just a little something to clear things up: Jocelyn and the Lightwoods don't know eachother, because Robert and Mayrse were never in the circle, although Jocelyn was.  
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**Songs:  
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**Hot Mess- Cobra Starship  
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**In My Head- Jason Derulo  
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**Clary POV**

When I got home that day, Mom's first question was, "How was school?"

'Oh, it was awesome mom, I completely forgot what permutations were in math and then I shoved a cupcake in some girls' face. And, oh yeah, I might possibly be falling for a guy that you'd completely hate....'

Yeah. That would be the truth. But if she couldn't tell me the truth, then why should I tell her anything?

"It was fine."

"Did you make any friends."

"Yeah. Sure."

"Like who?"

I sighed. "People, Mom."

"Any boys?"

I sighed again, angrily this time. My mother had always had an issue with me even remotely talking to any guys other than Simon. "Mom, I'm not thirteen years old. I think I'm allowed to be _friends_ with a guy."

Her eyes hardened a little. "So you did make friends with boys?"

"Yes!" I shouted, exasperated.

"Clary, I know that you're old enough to decide on your own friends. Just be careful."

I rolled my eyes at her, but didn't respond. After a few minutes of awkward silence, I asked a question that I should have asked a long time ago, but hadn't thought of until now.

"What state are we in?"

* * *

Even a few days later, after discovering that we were in Nevada, I felt kid of differently about school. Nevada was pretty close to California, and California had a lot of criminals. Who knows what Kaelie could do with that information.

Not that I thought I was in imminent danger or anything. With Kaelie's brain, it would take her years to come up with something. With friends, it would still take her months.

"Running for fear of your life yet?" A silky voice murmured in my ear. I didn't need to turn around to see who it was, I kept outlining the forest in my sketchbook.

"Not yet, King Asshat. But if you hear I need to start, why don't you let me know?"

He snorted as he sat down next to me. He was very close; I could feel his body heat coming off of him. "I doubt you'd listen."

I shot him a grim smile. "Is it really that obvious?" School hadn't started yet, everyone was milling around the courtyard or doing something illegal or inappropriate in the parking lot.

Hey, it's high school. Isn't that what you expect of us all?

He laughed and looked down at drawing. "Wow, you're really good at that, aren't you?"

I shrugged. "I've been drawing for as long as I can remember. I still have some pictures from when I was little. They're kind of scary looking." He laughed again, and we sat in comfortable silence for a little while as he just watched me draw.

"I think maybe we should just bring a full cake to lunch today."

I smirked, still not looking at him. "What, the cupcake wasn't enough for you guys?"

"While it was quite amusing, I think a cake would be more effective."

"And why is that?"

I could tell he shrugged from the slight movement of the air. "Because a cake could cover her whole head."

I laughed and was about to respond, but then Izzy came and sat down across from us. "Clary. It's Friday. Which means you and I are going shopping tonight. And then you're going to stay at our house tonight so we can.....test out some of the new things you're getting.

I could see Jace smiling out of the corner of my eye. "Iz, I'm not really sure my mom would-"

She cut me off. "My mom can talk to your mom, from what I've heard they've been getting along pretty well. She'll tell your mom that although her and Dad will be gone, Alec's a very responsible young man and that we'll be fine." Jace rolled his eyes. "Besides, when your mom met Alec, she seemed to really like him. And the weather is supposed to be fine, so no excuses."

I rolled my eyes, too. "Fine. But I swear, if you turn me into a slut like Kaelie, I'll shove a cupcake in _your_ face, too."

Izzy and Jace both laughed. "Okay. No Kaelie clothes. I can live with that." Then she got up to go talk to Aline, leaving Jace and I alone again.

"So." He said after a moment of silence. "You're finally going to get to see the infamous Lightwood house."

I snorted and said sarcastically, "Yeah, _now_ I'm running for fear of my life."

"You should be." He said seriously. "Especially if Izzy's going to be dragging you around for hours on end."

"Somehow I don't think you're kidding." I said grimly.

* * *

Izzy, Alec, and I were the first people at the lunch table, and Jace and Sebastian followed soon after. Although most of the people at the table didn't sit in the same chair all the time, Jace had taken to siting next to me every day. It was kind of funny, really, because Kaelie would just glare at the two of us for the whole lunch hour.

Although Kaelie had made sure that no one at our lunch table ever had any cupcakes anymore.

"_Please_ don't tell me that you're going to the dance alone, Sebastian." I heard Izzy say.

Sebastian looked uncomfortable. "I don't want to go at all." He mumbled.

Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Too bad. You're going. And we'll find someone for you to go with. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried about _getting_ a date. I'm more worried about who that date will _be_." He muttered.

"Um, does anyone want to tell me what the heck you guys are talking about?" I asked.

"It's the Winter Formal. It's next weekend." Jace murmured in my ear. I shivered as his warm breath tickled my skin.

I'm pretty sure he noticed.

Then Izzy looked at me. I know my eyes widened a little bit, kind of afraid of what she was going to say. "You know what, Clary, we should buy your dress when we go shopping tonight."

I groaned. "You've been planning that the whole time, haven't you?" She shrugged nonchalantly. I groaned again. "Well that's too bad, because there's no way in _hell _that I'm going to that dance." Kaelie looked particularly happy at this news.

Isabelle sighed. "You're going, Clary, even if I have to drag you there."

"Maybe she'll throw a cookie in your face before you get the chance." Kyle teased.

"How much damage is a _cookie_ going to do?" I asked, playing along. I picked up the chocolate chip cookie sitting on my tray and tossed it at his face. "See? It doesn't really do anything."

He broke a piece off and popped it into his mouth. "But it sure tastes good." He said, smiling.

I rolled my eyes, amused, and saw Izzy doing the same thing. "Okay, as weird as that was, we're still not done discussing you going to the dance. Because you _are_ going."

I sighed and said in a voice that left no room for arguing, "No, I'm _not_ going."

"I won't say any more, but we are not done discussing this." She muttered under her breath.

I thought we were done with that topic, but I guess we weren't. And surprisingly, it was Jace that kept talking about it. "Why don't you want to go?"

**Jace POV**

"Why don't you want to go?" I asked her. It was obvious that she didn't want to talk about it, but I was honestly curious. I didn't really like the dances either, but by now I was used to Izzy dragging Alec and I to all of them.

"Because those dances or formals or proms or whatever always end up the same."

I raised and eyebrow and put an arm around the back of her chair. "And how do they always end up, Annie?" I could see Kaelie glaring at us, especially when I said Clary's nickname.

"Someone spikes the punch, half the kids start throwing up, a girl loses her virginity in a van and most likely gets pregnant, and a fight breaks out because two guys are arguing over some stupid girl."

I considered it for a moment. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But there are a _few_ people that have fun."

She snorted. "Yeah, well I'm never one of those few people."

I had just opened my mouth to respond when Kaelie cut me off. "Just leave it, Jace." I was going to snap something at her, but I saw Clary go back to her lunch, looking relieved, so I dropped it.

I knew Kaelie was talking, but it was hard to concentrate with Clary's hair tickling my arm. Every time she moved, her messy red curls would brush across my whole arm, causing goosebumps to raise. But I wasn't at all inclined to move, so I just sat there and watched the sun play across her curls and her face. Whenever one fell into her eyes, I was tempted to brush it away.

Thank the Angel I didn't.

I'm pretty sure Izzy knew what was going on, she kept looking over at the two of us with a confused expression, like she didn't know whether to feel approval or anger.

Kaelie didn't notice, though. She just kept talking, not noticing that I wasn't hearing a word she was saying.

I'd taken to sitting next to Clary during lunch every day, even though I saw her next period anyways. At first I'd told myself that it was just because I wanted to annoy Kaelie, but I now realized the truth.

_To love is to destroy. _The words I'd once been told echoed suddenly in my head. The words that Valentine had told me when he was pretending to be my father._  
_

Well thank the Angel I wasn't at that stage yet. I just had to make sure that I never got there. Especially not with Clary.

Which meant that I'd have to stay away from her.

Which she and Isabelle were making increasingly difficult. If Clary was going to be staying the night at our house, there was no way I'd be able to avoid her the whole night.

And to be truthful, I didn't _want_ to leave her alone. There was something that drew me to Clary, something I couldn't ignore.

_Angel_, I sounded _so_ whipped.

But thankfully, Isabelle and Clary left right after school. Unthankfully, Alec stayed home. And Alec is even more observant than Izzy.

"So, Jace, plan on undressing Clary with your eyes anymore tonight?"

"I was not undressing her with my eyes!"

He snorted "Sure you weren't. But seriously, you're just lucky _she_ didn't notice anything. She probably would have ran away screaming something about a 'Golden Boy Stalker'. No, actually she probably would have thrown a brownie at you. Which I'm sure would have been much scarier, in your opinion."

I mock-gasped. "No! How could she ruin my perfect face?"

"Clary seems like the type of person who _will_ ruin it if you don't watch your mouth around her."

I furrowed my brow and sighed. "Yeah, that sounds about right." Then I grinned. "But with my voice, how could she resist?"

"By the Angel, Jace, if she doesn't kill you_ I _will." He muttered as he started walking up the stairs.

I flashed him a grin even though I knew he couldn't see it. "You won't have to worry about that, Alec. I think she's gonna beat you to it. And most likely it's going to be tonight."

**Next chapter is pretty.....interesting. It was amusing to write, too. So press that rectangular green button down there and tell me if you want to read it or not.**


	5. Truth or Dare and Revelations

**A/N: Heheheh.......Please don't hate this chapter. See, I love it, but it's a little weird and kind of awkward. I mean, if you hate it, you can tell me. All you have to do is press the button!**

**And just to let you know, yes, this story is rated T. As in teen. Which to me is like, fifteen or over.  
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**Don't own anything accept for my O.C's, don't own the songs or the lyrics either, yada yada yada.....you get it.  
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**Songs:**

**Shark In The Water- V.V. Brown**

**Ignorance- Paramore**

**Carry Out- Timbaland ft. Justin Timberlake**

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**Clary POV**

I'm not even going to _try_ to explain what happened with Izzy. Let's just say that I never plan on going shopping with her again. For hours and hours she dragged me around. I felt like a dress-up Barbie or something.

Needless to say, as soon as we got back to Izzy's house I threw the bags on the floor and collapsed on her bed.

"Oh, no you don't, missy. You need to test out some of these outfits together."

I groaned. "Again, Izzy?"

"Hey, you never tested any of them _together_."

I rolled my eyes at her. "No. I am not trying them on again. You already conned me into buying a new bikini. You've gotten your way enough tonight."

She sighed. "Fine." I smiled. Izzy sounded like a five year old being told to go feed the guinea pig or something.

I finally took a chance to look around the room. It was obvious that the Lightwoods were rich; I was pretty sure they had a flatscreen in every room of the house. And Izzy's closet was_ huge_. I'm talking bigger than my bedroom and kitchen combined.

Then again, this is _Izzy_ we're talking about.

"Hey Iz, can we go get some food or something?"

"Yeah, sure, I think Alec and Jace are ordering pizza."

Alec and Jace were here? I guess I hadn't really thought about that. As we walked down the stairs, I couldn't help but feel a little nervous at the prospect of seeing Jace again.

Although I have no idea why.

When we got downstairs, Alec, Jace, and Sebastian were all watching some football game.

"Of course." I heard Izzy mutter. Then she raised her voice to a normal volume. "Did you guys get anything to eat?"

They all jumped and looked up, like they hadn't heard us coming. Jace stared right at me as he said, "Yeah. We got some take-out and a few pizzas. They're in the fridge."

Izzy and I scarfed down the food very quickly, and then walked back into the living room. The three boys stared at us in amazement. "I think that's a new record." Alec said, wonder evident in his tone.

I smiled mischievously. "It's a talent."

Izzy rolled her eyes and turned off the T.V. "Hey!" All three boys protested.

Izzy smiled a little evilly. "I have a better idea."

I groaned. "Yeah, this is the part where I _run away_. FAR away."

Izzy grabbed my arm before I could even move, and, keeping hold of it, turned back to the other three. "We're going to play truth or dare." There was a moment of pure silence, and then Jace and I both burst and laughing and Alec and Sebastian gave Izzy some pretty.....weird.....looks.

"Truth or dare? _Really_, Izzy?" I gasped in between laughs.

"What are we, fifth graders?" Jace could barely get the words out, he was laughing so hard.

"This is truth or dare, the NC17 rated version."

That just made me laugh harder. "I wasn't aware that truth or dare had ratings."

She grinned a kind of creepy grin. "They do the way we play it."

I could tell she wasn't going to let go of this, so I sat down on the floor with a sigh.

* * *

It took Izzy almost half an hour to get 'ready' for truth or dare. But I mean, really, what to you have to get ready for? Honestly, I think Izzy was just looking evil ideas up online. I wouldn't be surprised.

It started off completely normal, stuff like what was your most embarrassing moment and daring someone to prank call a teacher or something. I was just starting to wonder how this was NC17 or whatever, but then Izzy turned to me.

"Truth or dare?"

"Umm.....truth?" I was seriously afraid of what she would make me do if I chose dare.

Izzy considered for a moment, then asked, "Out of all the people in this room, who would you want to have sex with the least?" Thank God she didn't say 'the most'. _That _would have been awkward.

Not that this question wasn't awkward, but still.

I knew I was blushing, and I hesitated before I answered. "Probably Alec." I mumbled. It wasn't that Alec wasn't good looking or anything, because he was, but I had this weird feeling about him. It was just the way he looked at Jace sometimes..... "No offense, Alec. But you kind of freak me out."

Izzy looked like she was thinking. "So who would you want to have sex with the most?"

I smiled mischievously for what seemed like the millionth time that night. "Sorry, only one question per turn."

From then on, I made sure to choose dare.

But is seemed Izzy was always choosing me. And in this game, Izzy has the most devious mind of us all.

"Alright Clary. I dare you to....kiss Sebastian. A _real_ kiss. Like, a lasts more than two minutes kiss."

Now I _know_ I blushed. The only thing going through my head was _Holy crap Holy crap I _really_ don't want to do this._

"Come on, Clary, you don't want to lose, do you?"

True, it was a game of truth or dare, so why should I care if I lost? But for some reason I did, so I walked over to Sebastian and pressed my lips to his. It wasn't a bad kiss, not at all, I just didn't really feel anything.

After what was probably three minutes, I pulled away and went back to my spot on the carpet. "Satisfied?" I asked, looking at Izzy. She was grinning kind of weirdly and looking at Jace, who was looking at his hands.

"Very. It's your turn, Clary."

"Fine....Alec. Truth or dare?"

Alec sighed. "Considering I'm even more afraid of your mind than Izzy's, I'm gonna go with truth."

"I know that you're going to hate me for this, Alec, but are you gay?"

Alec froze, then looked around the room. "You have to tell the truth, Alec." Izzy said gently.

Alec sighed again. "Maybe." I raised an eyebrow. "Fine! Yes, okay? I'm gay." No one looked all that surprised, really, except for maybe Sebastian. Alec glared at us all. "Say anything, and I swear on the River Styx that I'll kill you all."

They all seemed to consider it a real threat, but I was confused. "River Styx?"

Alec got a little alarmed look and his face and tried to cover it up and said, "It's just a place."

Not entirely convinced, I nodded.

The night went on like that, awkward dares and personal confessions. At one point, Izzy admitted that she kind of had a thing for Kyle and we found out that Sebastian was a virgin. Jace refused to even glance at me; It was kind of unnerving.

I listened to the music Izzy had playing, a little freaked out about the irony of the song.

_Well you treat me just like_

_I'm not a stranger_

_Well it's nice to meet you so_

_I guess I'll go_

_I best be on my way out_

"So, Jace, truth or dare?" Izzy asked.

Jace groaned and said grimly, "Truth."

Izzy grinned in an evil way. "I was hoping you'd say that. Now remember, you have to tell the truth." She paused for dramatic effect. "If you could go to the dance with anyone in our two grades, who would it be?"

Jace froze and looked very uncomfortable. He fidgeted as we waited for him to answer. He finally mumbled something under his breath.

"Sorry, didn't catch that." Izzy said, leaning towards him a little more.

"Clary!" He burst out. "I said Clary, alright?"

**Jace POV**

I should have known Isabelle would ask something like that. I watched her porcelain skin blush when I said her name, and I couldn't help but stare.

I think Izzy had realized from the start what I'd been trying to deny: I had feelings for Clary.

Which was ridiculous. I was Jace Wayland. I played around with girls, then left them out in the cold and barely ever talked to them again. Besides, why should I care about some weak little mundane?

But as ridiculous as it was, it was true.

I could never get her out of my head, and every time she was around it was like the rest of the world ceased to exist. If she talked, it was impossible for me not to listen. When she moved, it was impossible for me not to watch.

And _Angel_, I was going insane.

_To love is to destroy._

And with those words, my mind was made up. Just because I had feelings, that didn't mean I was going to act on them.

Isabelle grinned eerily. "So why don't you ask her?"

I tried to make my face remain impassive. "Just because I said her name, that doesn't mean I _want_ to ask her. She's just slightly more interesting than all those blond and clingy bimbos at school." Isabelle looked a little upset when I said this, but I refused to look at Clary. I didn't want to know what her reaction was.

Izzy sighed, and we continued on with the game. Clary didn't participate much, although once I could have sworn I heard her singing along to the lyrics of whatever song was playing.

_Baby there's a shark in the water (water)_

_There's something underneath my bed  
_

_Oh please believe I said_

_Baby there's a shark in the water (water)_

_I caught them howling at the moon_

_Better be soon  
_

I really didn't want to think about what that could have meant, but for the first time in a while I looked at her. She was sitting cross-legged on the white carpet, looking down at it and picking at some of the fringes. I couldn't see her expression, her hair was hiding her face. I willed her to look up at me, though I'm not sure why, but she just kept looking at the floor.

When Izzy finally decided that it was time to stop playing, (Around two in the morning, I might add) I was more than grateful. Especially considering Sebastian kept shooting looks at Clary that made me really want to punch him. Or stab him with my stele.

To blow off steam that night, I decided to go into the city to see if I could find any demons. Izzy, and obviously Clary, didn't know, but Alec and Sebastian vehemently disagreed with me, saying I shouldn't go out by myself. But thankfully they didn't try to stop me.

* * *

I got lucky; I found three easy demons throughout the night and was back by five AM. I didn't expect anyone to be awake, but when I heard humming coming from the kitchen, I went in to discover Clary leaning against the counter. She jumped when she saw me.

"What are you doing up?" I asked her.

"I got thirsty." She said simply, gesturing to the glass of water she held in her hand. Then her brow furrowed. "What were you doing outside?" She asked, a little suspiciously.

I was about to respond, but then I realized what she was wearing. A tight bright green tank top that brought out her emerald eyes perfectly and _very_ short black shorts.

Can anyone say distracting?

"Hello? Jace?" She said, waving her hand a little bit.

I looked back up to her face and flashed her a blinding smile. "I was over at Kaelie's." I normally don't give lying a second thought, but when I saw Clary's face fall, I almost blurted out the whole truth.

Yeah, talking about demons and magical knives would go over _real_ well with her.

So instead, I sighed and said, "No, that's not true. I don't think I'm ever going to do that again. I couldn't sleep, so I just decided to take a walk." It wasn't entirely a lie. In fact, it was almost all true. I'd just left out a few key points.

"Oh." Was all she said, but I noticed that her face looked a little happier. She hopped up on the counter and took a sip of her water, looking at me over the glass with wide green eyes.

Angel, why did she have to do that? And why did she have to be so hard to lie to?

_To love is to destroy. Love makes you weak._

Weak was something I could not stand to be, so I left her standing there and walked up the stairs to my room without saying anything else, leaving her confused and bewildered with her glass of water.

**So there you go? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Dislike it? (And I could go on and on with that, but I won't) I don't care what you think, (Well, actually I do, but say whatever you want) just REVIEW!!!!**

**..........Please?  
**


	6. Pancakes, too?

**A/N: This is my short little rant that I must do: Why is it that no one ever updates their Hunger Games fanfics???? Out of all of the good ones I've read, absolutely none of them have updated since before January! GAH!!!!**

**And also, why is it that in every single book/book series I read, if there's a love triangle they always end up with the person I _don't_ want them to end up with??? EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. I swear, I'm just not going to read books with love triangles in them anymore. The only one where the person ended up with who I wanted them to is the Mortal Instruments, (Which I don't own) and there never really was very much of a love triangle in this one. And truthfully, we don't even know if Clary and Jace end up together since there's going to be another book coming out next year. For all we know, Clary and Jace could start completely hating each other. (Which better not happen.)**

**I'm not sure if you're going to like this chapter, but what happens kind of needed to happen.  
**

**Songs:**

**Yellow- Coldplay**

**Enough For Now- The Fray**

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* * *

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**Jace POV**

I finally fell asleep somewhere around six-thirty in the morning, but my peace was short-lived. I woke up at exactly nine eighteen with Izzy yelling in my ear.

"Just couldn't wait any longer to see my gorgeous face, Izzy, could you?" I said groggily as I sat up.

She rolled her eyes. "Get up. We're going to some pancake place in the city that Alec discovered last week. And we're not bringing anything back, so if you don't get up, no pancakes for you." She picked up the lamp on the table next to my bed and held it up, obviously threatening to throw it at me.

"Fine, fine, I'm getting up." I grumbled.

She walked out of the room smugly, and I heard her call out, "Pay up, Alec. I told you I'd get him to come." I heard Alec mutter something back, but I don't think I heard right. It sounded like he said, "I bet Clary could have done it faster."

Even if that's not what he said, it's probably true.

But I'd come to an agreement with myself while I was killing demons last night: No more Clary. I called it Operation Be-A-Bastard-To-Clary-And-Make-Her-Be-A-Bitch-Back-So-I-Can-Forget-About-Her.

I wasn't so sure how it was going to work out, but I was going to try it anyways.

So when I got downstairs, I only looked at her once, smirked, and turned away. Although through the whole ride it was tempting to look at her, I wasn't going to. I had the whole plan formed in my head.

When we got our spots, I immediately started flirting with the waitress. Most people would think I was trying to make Clary jealous, but I was really only doing it because I knew it would make Clary angry and make her say some snappy comment.

"Wooow, Jace, desperate much?" I heard her say as soon as the waitress walked away.

I smirked, knowing my plan was working. "I don't _need _to be desperate, Annie. Not with looks like these."

She rolled her eyes and looked and Isabelle and Alec. "How in the world do you guys put up with him? It's like constant babysitting of an arrogant eight year old."

"Hey, at least I'm_ taller_ than an eight year old." Her eyes flashed with anger when I said that. I felt a little guilty, but I quickly pushed it from my mind. Her reaction wasn't angry enough, though, (probably because she was so used to it by now) so I knew we would have to keep going. I almost didn't notice the fact that our pancakes had arrived, and it seemed no one else really noticed either.

"At least my maturity level is higher than an eight year old's."

"With looks this good, no one cares about your maturity level."

Now I could tell she was getting really annoyed. Good. "Jeez, when are you going to realize that you're not God! And no, Jace, not every girl in the world is obsessed with your looks."

I raised an eyebrow. I knew exactly where this was going. "Name one girl, besides Izzy, who isn't."

"Me!" Isabelle and Alec watched us, their heads looking back and forth like they were watching a tennis match. They could tell this wasn't me just being arrogant, and they could tell Clary and I weren't just having a playful banter.

I smirked. "Fine. But all the_ important_ people are obsessed with my looks."

Izzy gasped and Clary's emerald eyes hardened. She looked around the table for a moment, then picked up two pancakes and threw them in my face, after which she promptly picked up the syrup bottle and slowly dumped all its contents on my head. Then she stormed out of the restaurant.

I sat in shock for what felt like hours as syrup slowly dripped down my face and the sides of my head. I certainly hadn't expected _that _to happen. Izzy just glared at me and Alec looked a little blank. Then I probably said the stupidest thing I could have said in that moment.

"What is it with her and throwing food in people's faces?"

* * *

**Izzy POV**

Alec and I both exploded at him.

"If you could just stop thinking about yourself for more than _five seconds_ than you might know!"

"Maybe if you weren't such an_ ass_!"

"What the _hell_ did you do that for?"

"You arrogant, cruel, selfish bastard! What the hell is wrong with you?" I shrieked. It went on like that for a while until we ran out of things to say. I was surprised at Alec, I hadn't really expected him to get so defensive over Clary, but I think that because of last night he was starting to get a soft spot for her. He probably should have hated her, but I think he was just happy that she gave him an excuse to tell us.

But I'd never seen Jace purposely insult a girl like that. And how could he do it to someone as sweet as Clary? After everything that's happened to him, I know that he's a little messed up, but that doesn't give him an excuse. I understand that he can't trust people, especially after the whole supposed-to-be-dead Valentine showed up and made Jace think he was his father, but how does that allow him to treat Clary that way?

After a few moments of angry silence, I went back to "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Jace stared blankly for a second before he answered. "Nothing's _wrong_ with me Isabelle," He said angrily. "I was just telling her the truth."

I started sputtering incoherently, too angry to even form an actual word. I looked over at Alec, but he just sighed and looked over at Jace with sad eyes. "You know that's not true, Jace."

Jace snorted. "Isn't it?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Alec sighed again. "No, Jace, it's no true. And you know it. Ever since Clary got here it's like you've....I don't know, like you've woken up or something. She's had an effect on you that no one else has ever had. And I have no idea why you just did that, but I know that she's really pissed off and Clary seems like the type who _will_ keep a grudge."

"Oh, she is. I think that fact is pretty obvious considering she just threw _syrup_ all over you."

"Yeah...." Jace looked at himself and started trying to clean off some of the syrup, but realized his attempt was only creating a worse mess. The waitress skipped over looking excited and bringing some napkins with her. She started trying to help Jace clean off a little bit, but he just batted her hands away.

"Fight with a jealous ex?" She simpered, sounding hopeful and not getting that Jace just wanted her to go away.

"No! She's not an ex and she's certainly not jealous."

"Especially not of you....." I said looking off to the side. The waitress glared at me for a moment and then turned back to Jace, flipping her long blond and completely obviously dyed hair.

"Well, if I were her, I'd _never_ leave you alone..." She trailed off suggestively, running her nails up and down Jace's arm.

Jace shooed her away with an annoyed tone, but I wasn't really listening. What _was_ it with these girls? They were all so flirty and slutty and they were all the same.

Which is probably why we all liked Clary so much.

Which reminded me of something....

I got up with a sigh and Alec and Jace both shot me questioning looks. "I'm going to go call Clary," I told them, putting an emphasis on her name and staring right at Jace as I did so, "And see if she's alright. See if she found another ride home."

And with that, I left them both sitting there, one staring after me with a smile and the other still dripping in pancake syrup.

* * *

**Clary POV  
**

After the little incident in the restaurant, I just wandered around the city. They had some pretty interesting places, (And obviously some places you know better than to walk into) and I somehow ended up in this little jewelry store. It was a beautiful place with red and blue stained glass, and the flooring had an intricate design much like the window but with white swirls on the edges. I found a very pretty yet simple necklace, a blue sapphire on a chain. I was just about to buy it when my phone rang.

I answered without looking at the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Oh thank the Angel. I almost thought that you'd been, like, kidnapped or something."

I laughed. "Always assume the worst, don't you Izzy."

I could almost hear her roll her eyes. "Of course I do. Now where are you? I'll come pick you up."

I sighed. "Izzy, I'm not sure that would be the best idea."

"Oh, relax, Clary. I'm making Jace _walk_ home. I'm not going to get that stuff in the car!"

I laughed and told her where I was.

I was happy that I wasn't going to have to see Jace; I don't think I was ready to face him yet. And no, I didn't fell ashamed or guilty about the pancakes and syrup thing. And I _wasn't_ going to apologize either. I was actually a little proud of what I'd done. But what Jace had said....

I honestly couldn't believe he's said that. Yes, I knew he was arrogant and cocky and annoying, (which were really all the same thing) but he'd never been cruel or said anything like that to me. And I'd never expected him to. I'm not going to say that I ever thought that Jace cared about me or anything like that, because I knew guys like him never really cared about anyone, but he at least seemed to respect me and realize that I wasn't going to be his playtoy.

Apparently to him, since I wasn't all head over heels for him, that meant I was absolutely nothing.

Well, you know what? If I was nothing to him, fine. Then he would be nothing to me.

Of course, that would only work if I could stop thinking about him for more than an hour.

And it would probably be nice if I stopped throwing food in people's faces too.

**Sorry if you have issues with it, but that's what needed to happen. And for all of you wondering about Sebastian, yes, he is the real Sebastian, I just haven't decided if he's good or bad yet.**

**And sorry about all the changing POV's! Normally I try to just keep it between Jace and Clary, but I kind of wanted to add that little Izzy part.**

**REVIEW!!!  
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	7. The One Sided Heart to Heart With Izzy

**A/N: Yes, Jace was an ass in the last chapter, I know. But that was kind of necessary, he can't be all perfect and nice right away, that just wouldn't work! **

**Songs:**

**Say When- The Fray**

**Where The Story Ends- The Fray**

**Syndicate- The Fray (Yeah, I was in a mood to listen to them, okay?)**

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**Clary POV**

For the next week, Jace and I didn't say one word to each other, except for the few words I used to insult him. He sat as far away from me as possible at the lunch table, (Much to Kaelie's pleasure) and whenever I went to Izzy's house he immediately went upstairs and stayed there, most likely coming out as soon as I left. He flirted with almost every girl in sight, and although he did it well, (Yeah, cuz it's _so_ difficult for him) but I had to admit, it didn't seem like his heart was in it.

Not that I cared at all.

It was just kind of confusing, because at first he'd actually been kind of....nice to me. I didn't understand why that had changed.

Yeah, I know, you're probably screaming, _Clary, you threw pancake syrup all over his head._ But see, he'd started being weird even before that. That's _why _I'd thrown syrup all over him. I honestly shouldn't have cared too much, so I tried to forget about it. It wasn't like I'd have much luck figuring it out, anyways.

And if lunch was bad, Biology was by far the worst. Every time we had a lab, Jace would just lean over and start flirting with the girl at that table, leaving me to do all the work. Now, I may be smart, but Biology just isn't my best subject. Which is why one day, while I was trying to block out Jace and Ella's constant innuendos, I accidentally added the wrong chemical, and instead of turning dark blue, whatever was in the test tube started smoking. And then...Well, it kind of exploded. And everyone stared, too.

Which prompted a very intense lecture from the teacher about being careful. Jace just sat there with a bored yet amused expression, and I think that's what finally set me off.

"Well maybe if Jace wasn't so busy looking down Ella's shirt and reaching up her skirt, this wouldn't have happened!" I shouted angrily. Then I grabbed my bag and stormed out.

I seem to be doing that a lot lately.

But storming out somehow lead me to Sebastian. I wen to the courtyard and saw him sitting at one of the tables. When he looked up and saw me, he smiled and waved me over.

"Seeing you here just saves me the time it would take me to find you later."

"And what exactly do you need to find me for?" I asked as I sat down next to me.

"I wanted to ask you something." I raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to go on. He took a deep breath. "I wanted to know if you'd like to go to the dance with me tomorrow." He paused, and then kept going, kind of like he was babbling to fill the silence. "I mean, obviously we're all riding together, but...."

I tuned him out, trying to think. I really didn't want to go to the dance at all, but Isabelle was making me. Obviously she had a date, but a few of the people in our group didn't, so it was kind of a group thing. And something about Sebastian asking me just didn't seem right. But Sebastian seemed like a nice guy, and I knew he was fun to be around.

And I also knew that he was probably my best shot of getting my mind off Jace.

"Sebastian." I finally cut him off. "I'll go with you." His face broke into a huge smile.

"Oh, thank the Angel. I know it's kind of last minute, but I'm sure Izzy's going to be excited. She's been bothering us both to get a date for two weeks." It was true, she'd been badgering both of us and Cara and Kyle about it because none of us had dates. But then the bell rang, so the conversation was over.

Thank the Angel? Why was I hearing that so much? Jace, Izzy, Alec, and Sebastian seemed to say it all the time. I'd even heard Aline say it a few times. Was it like, some weird religion where they believed Angels were all powerful or something?

I finally asked Cara about it. "Oh, their families have all known each other for a really long time, they told us they came up with it when they were younger or something." She'd said.

Funny, considering I'd heard my mom say that a few times before, too. More than a few times, actually.

And when it was Friday, the day of the dance, I was actually kind of afraid of what Izzy was going to shove me in, since she hadn't let me see it until then.

But I didn't need to be. It was a dark purple dress with spaghetti straps that fell to just above my knees. It clung to me at the top, and then started flowing out more towards the bottom. She put me in ballet flats that were the exact same color, since she knew I didn't want to wear heels, and then we were suddenly ready to go.

I don't even know how to explain Izzy's dress, just that it was a deep red and probably a little shorter than it should have been, but it looked amazing on her.

Izzy walked down the stairs first and told me to wait about twenty seconds before following her. I didn't understand at first, but then she'd told me that I needed my 'staircase moment' for this dance. I'd rolled my eyes but agreed.

I walked down the stairs kind of slowly, and everyone gasped when I got to the bottom.

"Clary, you look amazing!" Cara said excitedly.

"Blame Izzy." I teased.

She just rolled her eyes and said, "Alright, now that Cinderella's here, let's get going."

Sebastian came up to me and put an arm around me. "Wow." He breathed in my ear. I giggled, but it was short-lived, because then I saw Jace. He was in an honest to God tux, like the rest of the guys, but it looked even more amazing on him. It clung to his shoulders, and the black contrasted with his golden hair amazingly. I finally looked up at his face, and he was staring back at me with something like wonder in his face. His date was trying to get his attention, but it was obvious that he couldn't care less.

But then I finally realized who his date was.

Kaelie.

* * *

I had to admit, whoever had decorated the gym had done it beautifully. It almost looked like there were stars hanging from the ceiling, and there were twinkling lights hanging everywhere. Cheesy, I know, but it really looked nice.

I danced with Sebastian a few times, and with Kyle, and Izzy, Aline, Cara and I danced together a few times. I even danced with Sebastian during some of the slow dances.

"You really do look amazing tonight, Clary." He'd murmured in my ear during one of them.

"Well, I guess you don't look _too _horrible." I teased. I knew that Sebastian was nice and caring, and probably completely perfect, but somehow being with him just didn't feel right. Which is why I mainly danced with everyone else.

But I stayed as far away from Jace and Kaelie as possible. And Izzy noticed.

Which is what lead me to this moment. Izzy was having a little heart-to-heart with me out in the courtyard.

"Clary, I know you think Jace is a total ass, and believe me, sometimes he is, but he honestly likes you. And Jace is damaged enough, and you always insulting him really isn't helping."

"He doesn't seem damaged to me, Izzy. He seems just fine. He seems like a conceited_ ass_ that thinks he can mess with anyone he wants to. And honestly likes me? I don't think so. You heard what he said to me in the restaurant. And_ he's_ the one initiating this whole stony silence thing."

Izzy sighed. "Look, Jace just isn't used to having actual feelings for anyone. And he's always been told not to love people. He thinks love makes you weak, because that's what he's been told since he was little. But Clary, you've affected him in ways no one's ever been able to. With you, he didn't want to just 'hump and dump' you or whatever they say. He's never made an effort to be friends with a girl before, and you haven't seen the way he looks at you."

"He doesn't look at me at_ all,_ Izzy!" I said, exasperated with her theories.

She glared at me. "I wasn't done yet." She waited a few moments, making sure I was going to be quiet. "He does, just not when you're expecting it. And when we first met you, he just kept talking about you, and how we had such an interesting new neighbor and how he wondered why you were here. And then when you stormed out of your house that one night, he came over and tried to make you feel better. Jace does _not_ do that. Which is pretty obvious, but I really don't think that he's ever done that in his life. He's an ass to you because he's a fraid of you because he thinks that you're going to make him weak." I snorted at this, but she kept going.

"And if you'd even glanced in his direction tonight, then you'd realize he's been sitting there all night, completely ignoring Kaelie, glaring at Sebastian. You don't understand because you don't know what he's been like, but Clary, you did something to him. Jace has never really cared about what happened to him or anyone else before, but now he suddenly does. And I know that's because of you."

"Izzy, this isn't some fairytale where you know that everything's going to work out in the end!" I nearly shouted. Then I was abruptly tired, and I knew I probably sounded weary and exhausted. "The end's already here. This is where our story ends. And it's not a happy ending. That happens sometimes. It's just the way things are." And then I got up and started walking back to the dance, only to realize that I really didn't want to go back there. So I started walking back home, silently thanking Izzy for not forcing me into heels.

As hard as I tried, I couldn't forget what Izzy had said. True, I hadn't known him for very long, so I really didn't know what he'd been like in the past. But it was pretty obvious, wasn't it? And I couldn't understand why Izzy was so intent on making me believe he actually felt something for me.

But it was impossible to understand _anything _about Jace. Except for the fact that he was an _ass_, and he _deserved _to get syrup thrown all over him.

And Izzy was completely insane. Jace didn't like me at all, I was pretty sure the only feelings he felt towards me were intense dislike. If you like a person, you don't say what he said to me that day in the restaurant. He'd realized that I wasn't going to be his little playtoy, so he'd decided not to waste his energy. It was as simple as that.

Like I told Izzy, this is where or story ends.

**Ha, Clary's just so stupid sometimes. No, this is not where the story ends. I've still got plenty in store for her and Jace, and who knows? Maybe more reviews will make it happen faster. Like...Next chapter faster. So review! **

**You may call it blackmail or bribing, but I just call it an easy way to get some more reviews.**

**And hey! Clary didn't throw anything at anyone this chapter. Aren't you proud of her self control?  
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	8. The Asshole Attacks

**A/N: I just need to clear something up. Yes, Jace is being mean and yes, he's being an ass. That's kind of the point. He's doing it to try and distance himself from Clary because he doesn't want to fall for her, because he's always been told to love is to destroy and that love makes you weak. He hasn't even really thought about the fact that she's just a human very much yet.**

**And now that I'm done with that, all I have left to say is that I love this chapter!  
**

**Songs:  
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**Into Your Arms- The Maine**

**If We Ever Meet Again- Timbaland ft. Katy Perry**

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**Clary POV**

"Hey, Clary, do you want to come for a little walk with me?"

It was the Monday after the dance, and it was lunch. The weather was warm enough that we could all eat outside in the courtyard, and I was stiing at one of the tables with Izzy, Cara, and Kyle. I turned around towards the voice to see Sebastian.

I figured after I'd left him on Friday the least I could do was go for a walk with him, so I smiled and stood up.

He lead us to a small path in the woods that were next to the school, and we walked a little ways down it. I finally stopped and leaned against the tree.

"So, what exactly was the point of this little stroll?"

He smiled. "I need a point?" He teased.

I raised an eyebrow. "Maybe."

He smiled again, then turned a little more seriously. "I just wanted to tell you that I had a really good time with you at the dance. At least until you pulled your little ditching stunt."

I sighed. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Izzy just said something, and I really didn't want to talk to her after that. I know I should have told you, but I didn't want to come back inside and I just wanted to-"

"Clary." He cut me off and smiled, leaning a little too close for comfort. "It's okay." He told me gently. "I understand. Izzy's got a big mouth sometimes. I just wanted to do something that I didn't get a chance to do at the dance."

He started leaning closer to me so that our faces were only inches apart. I knew what he was going to do, and I wanted to stop him, but I figured, what would be the big deal if I let him kiss me for a second?

Suddenly his lips were pressing against mine, harder than I would have liked. He put his hands on my waist, and just when I thought he was going to stop, he pressed my back against the tree and kissed me even harder. I tried to pull away, but he just pushed me against the tree harder.

"Sebastian....Stop it..." I gasped when I finally managed to break away.

"Don' be that way, Clary." He grunted as he grabbed hold of my arms, which were pushing at his chest, trying to get him off of me. He was holding onto my forearm on one arm and my wrist on the other, and I was sure I'd have bruises tomorrow.

"Ow..Sebastian...Let go of me!" He just kept pressing his lips incessantly against my mouth, my chin, my neck. I kept trying to punch him, or even just shove him off, but that only cause him to hold my arms, especially my wrist, harder. He was strong. Too strong for me to do anything. I whimpered in pain.

And then suddenly Sebastian was pulled off me and thrown to the ground. I looked up to see Jace standing over him.

He looked like a golden angel. An _angry_ golden angel.

And then as Sebastian tried to stand up, Jace punched him, hard, and he fell back down to the ground. "You're lucky that I'm not allowed to kill you." He spat venomously.

Sebastian stayed on the ground, glaring at Jace, and Jace turned to me. When he saw my face, his expression softened and he reached out a hand to me.

"Come on, Clary. Let's get you out of here." He said gently. Still holding my wrist up, I used my other hand and put it in his. He lead us out of the forest quickly, back into the courtyard. It was obvious that lunch was over, there was no one else outside. Jace silently pulled me over to one of the benches and sat me down. When he saw I was cradling my wrist, he gently pulled it away from my chest to inspect it. I gasped and flinched as he started probing it.

Jace looked angry, and when he looked up at me his eyes were anguished. "Those are going to be some pretty bad bruises." He murmured, putting my wrist lightly back into my hand.

I gave him a sad little smile. "I'm sure I'll be fine."

His expression seemed tortured, and when he spoke again, his voice was soft and sad. "Are you sure about that, Clary?"

I looked away. "I think so. But I might have a some issues having to see Sebastian every day."

Jace's face hardened. "I know I will."

I sighed. "Thank you."

He looked startled. "For what?"

I gave him a _You're a complete idiot_ look. "For what you just did, _moron_."

"You don't need to thank me for that, Clary."

We were silent for a few minutes. I could feel his body heat radiating off him, and it gave me a comforting feeling. "You know, it's kind of sad that it took Sebastian practically attacking me for you to start talking to me again."

"Practically? Clary, he did attack you!" He sighed when I just raised an eyebrow. "I know. I'm sorry I've been ignoring you. I just...needed to do it." Then he looked at me, seeming a little amused. "You know, you're practically impossible to stay away from, Pippi."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, so we're back to the nicknames, are we, Goldilocks?"

He smiled his dazzling smile. "If you don't like Pippi, I could start calling you Shirley Temple. You've got the curly hair for it. Or, like I said, I could call you Annie instead."

"How about you just call me Clary?"

He smiled again. "Okay. Clary it is. For now."

I rolled my eyes at him, like I always seem to be doing. "So I take it you're talking to me again?"

He flashed me an almost evil grin. "As long as you promise not to throw any food at me."

I laughed. "Deal. As long as I still get to throw it at everyone else. Especially Kaelie."

He laughed, too, and for some reason hearing that made me feel a lot better. "I think I'd enjoy that."

* * *

When I got to school the next morning, when everyone saw my wrist, they all gasped. Apparently Jace had told them all what had happened.

My wrist was already completely black and purple, and it was almost horrifying to look at. I'd worn a thin long sleeve shirt, but when I'd gotten to the parking lot Izzy had immediately ran over and gently pulled up the sleeve.

"Angel, Clary, what did he _do_ to you?" As they all walked over to inspect my wrist, I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I didn't need to turn around to know that it was Jace.

"I told you, Izzy. He attacked her." His voice sounded angry but the hand on her shoulder was very gentle and comforting.

Isabelle looked up at me, her eyes full of sorrow. "I'm so sorry, Clary. None of us ever imagined he could do this."

And then suddenly Kaelie was there. "Puh-lease." She sneered. "The slut probably asked for it."

Izzy gasped and turned to her, as did Cara, probably about to scream at her. But Jace took his hand off my shoulder and walked up to her. She smiled at him coyly, obviously thinking he was on her side.

"Leave." He said in a cold voice.

Kaelie froze. It would have been funny if Jace didn't look so scary. "What?" She squeaked out.

"I said leave. And leave Clary alone, too. I don't care what she's done to you. Leave her alone." It was clear that Kaelie wanted to argue or complain, but Jace's tone left no room for any of that. So she reluctantly turned around and walked away.

Jace turned back to us. "Thanks." I said.

He smiled softly down at me. "I've been wanting to do that for a while now." He came over and put an arm around my waist, saying, "Come on. We should get to class." Izzy shot me an_ I told you so_ look before following us.

The place where Jace's arm rested felt all tingly and warm, but it was an amazing feeling. I was surprised that he'd done it, and I didn't know why, but I wasn't going to complain. Except for the fact that it extremely confused me. Just yesterday he was completely ignoring me, and now he was being kind and sweet and caring?

Hello, confusion.

It seemed that that's all that happened now. Confusion, confusion, and more confusion. My mom suddenly decides it's time to pack up and move, not letting me bring anything, and then I hear that weird conversation with her and Luke. She refuses to tell me the truth, and how am I supposed to figure anything out? And now everything with Jace.....

I made a frustrated noise, and Jace shot me a questioning look. I just shook my head angrily and looked away.

And then there was the weird expression they used, "By the Angel." If they'd all come up with it when they were kids, then why had I heard my mom say it sometime too?

I knew I would probably drive myself insane if I kept thinking about this, but I couldn't help it. And Jace was still looking at me with that adorably confused look on his face....

"Are you bipolar?" I finally blurted out. It was true, sometimes I wondered, but it was really more just a way to get him to stop looking at me like that.

He laughed. "I don't know. Maybe."

"Great. The fact that you could go all scary ninja on me any second makes me feel _so_ much better." I said with as much sarcasm as I could muster.

He flashed a grin. "Suspense is what keeps it fun, Shirley."

"I think I liked Pippi better." I muttered, causing him to smile again.

The warning bell rang and Jace murmured in my ear, "See you at lunch, Shirley." I immediately felt the loss of his arm, and it made me a little sad.

Maybe _I'm _the bipolar one.

* * *

When lunch finally came, I was a little bit nervous. Yes, it was in part because of Jace, but mainly because I was afraid that Sebastian might be there. And considering I had to look at my wrist every five minutes, I wasn't sure that I could face him yet.

But I didn't need to worry. Sebastian wasn't there, and neither was Kaelie. Jace sat down next to me again, and Izzy continued her mindless chatter about clothes and shopping and how she couldn't believe how hot the freshman English teacher was.

Yeah, she might seem shallow. But I was starting to realize that Izzy was one of the best friends you could have. She was loyal and protective, and she knew how to kick ass. In fact, I was starting to realize that everyone at this table were some of the kindest people I'd ever met. Excluding Jace, of course, but he had his moments. And Jace was probably the most caring and protective of them all when he wanted to be.

And oh God, I really _was_ going insane.

"Clary, you're coming over this Friday. Got it?" I heard Isabelle say.

"Hmm?"

She rolled her eyes. "I knew you weren't listening. I _said_, you're coming over on Friday. We need to talk."

"Oh, God. What I'd do now?"

Izzy smiled. "It's not what you did. It's what's going to happen."

I furrowed my brow. "_What_?"

She grinned in an evil way. "You'll find out on Friday."

I sighed. "Fine. But please tell me that I don't have to be afraid of this....discussion?"

"Not afraid exactly, more like...Oh, nevermind. You'll find out on Friday."

"Okay..." I answered warily. I could see Jace grinning out of the corner of my eye.

And I suddenly remembered the conversation that Izzy and I had had at the dance. I really hoped it had nothing to do with that, but I had a nagging feeling that it did.

Oh, Universe, what have I done to you?

**Thank you for all the reviews! I wouldn't mind if you kept it up.....**

**And I love the next chapter even more than this one. More reviews means faster chapters......  
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	9. The Calm Before The Storm

**A/N: *sighs happily* You guys are so good at reviewing. Unlike the people for my _other _story....**

**I would have had this up sooner, since it's Spring Break and all, but I spent the day making really weird Youtube videos with one of my friends. Stuff about a crazy stalker lady with blue hair, creepy Whinnie the Pooh glasses, and a weird beret.**

**But hey, who ever said I was normal?**

**Songs:**

**Enough For Now- The Fray**

**Don't Bring Flowers- Erik Hassle**

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**Clary POV**

It was Friday. And I. Was. Afraid.

Izzy had been sending me weird looks all week, and she wouldn't even give me a hint for what we she had to talk to me about. All she said was that it might possibly be a lengthy conversation, so I had to sleep at her house.

What am I supposed to get out of _that_?

And I knew that Kaelie had some evil plans brewing in her witch cauldron. She was always whispering with her 'friends', if you could even call them that, and she was always staring at me. Whether it was to glare or shoot me a calculating look, she was still always staring at me.

Sadly, when they say that if you're dreading something the day just goes that much faster, they're telling you the truth. The day flew by in a blur, and suddenly I was packing my overnight bag and being greeted at the Lightwood's door by Jace. He smirked when he saw me.

"You look nervous."

I knew my eyes were probably wild, and my hair matched. "Well, you would be too if you were getting dragged into a conversation about who-knows-what with Isabelle. I'm afraid she's gonna try to give me the sex talk or something."

Jace snorted. "I wouldn't put it past her. But Izzy's version of the sex talk is probably more like 'make sure you have a condom and don't give him a blow-job because you have no idea what diseases he could have.'"

I was about to respond, but Izzy's voice called down the stairs, "Jace, stop harassing the poor girl." The weird thing was, she didn't sound serious. Jace rolled his eyes and opened the door wider for me.

I walked up the stairs slowly, dreading what was about to happen even though I didn't really know what it was. When I walked into Izzy's room, she smiled and closed the door behind me. I sat down on her bed and set my bag on the floor.

"So. Want to tell me what all this was about, Izzy?"

Her mood immediately changed, turning more serious, and she sighed. "It's about Jace."

I groaned. I really should have seen that one coming. "Izzy, I've already told you that there-"

"That was before you guys were talking again. And I told you he wasn't ignoring you because he hates you. It's just because he's falling for you, and he doesn't want to." She said matter-of-factly, cutting me off.

I gave a weird little sarcastic laugh. "Yeah, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

She sighed again. "Clary...There are things that you don't know about Jace. And while I know that he doesn't want to hurt you if he can avoid it, but..."

"So you're going to spend all night trying to explain _Jace_ to me?" She nodded. "Izzy, do you have any idea how ridiculous that is?"

"I know. But I have to do it." I opened my mouth to say something, bu she glared at me until I shut my mouth. She drew in a deep breath to start explaining.

"Look, I know you don't think that Jace feels anything for you. But you haven't known him very long, you haven't seen how much he's changed. He's never really cared about anyone but himself, but as soon as you came along, his care just immediately extended to you. He's changed, Clary, more than you'll ever know. And I know for a fact that that's because of you, no matter what you think."

"Izzy-"

"No, Clary, you need to listen. I know that you both care about each other, so I need to tell you this. The man that Jace grew up with...He caught him things that no child should be taught. And he always told Jace that love makes you weak. And if you haven't noticed, weak is _not_ something he does well. And then when-"

Izzy was cut off by a cold voice. "I think you've done enough explaining, Izzy."

I turned to see Jace standing in the doorway, looking cold and distant yet somehow furious at the same time. There it was again. The whole angry golden angel thing.

Izzy just sighed. "All I'm trying to say is that you care about her. And she cares about you, too." Then she got up and walked out, leaving me with a slightly scary Jace. Although as soon as she walked out, he stopped looking cold and furious. Now he just looked distant. He came over and sat down next to me.

"What did she tell you?" He asked simply. He sounded so eerily calm that he was really staring to scare me.

The calm before the storm.

"Just that the man who raised you always taught you that love makes you weak and that you've changed in the past couple of weeks."

He sighed, though I'm not sure if it was because of relief or something else. "She's right. I guess I have changed. More than I'd like to admit." He finally looked at me for the first time since he'd walked into the room. "And it seems she was right about the reason, too."

I blushed and looked away, not totally comprehending what he was saying. What _was_ he saying?

"Look, my dad...Well, he only pretended to be my dad. Let's go with that. Not too long ago, I found out that both my real parents are dead, that the guy who raised me did some pretty weird stuff, and that the guy who came after that was actually trying to protect me. And then I ended up with the Lightwoods. And the way I grew up, it was pretty much don't care about anyone 'cause it's only gonna get you killed. If you love someone, you're just destroying yourself. That's the way I was taught to live. It' s not really easy to changed that."

He looked at, his eyes full of wonder. He sounded as if he was just realizing something that he'd always known. If that even makes sense. "But somehow you did it, Clary. Without even trying, without even knowing, somehow you changed me."

I snorted, choosing to use sarcasm to cover my confusion. "Jace, you hump everything that has boobs and blond hair, as long as it moves. You like girls. You like _lots_ of girls. That's just the way you are, and there is no way that that's ever going to change. Not even if the people in Hell started complaining that they were too cold."

He grit his teeth together. "I thought we already went over this, Clary. You've done a lot in the few weeks you've been here. And in case you hadn't noticed, I don't pay attention to any girls other than you and Isabelle. And Isabelle's my sister."

And suddenly I realized. It was true. He'd barely payed attention to anyone else, he'd ignored Kaelie, he'd even protected me in front of her. He didn't seem to notice anymore that girls never stopped staring at him; He didn't even seem to care. He seemed to have lost some of his arrogance, mainly towards girls.

And then I realized something else, too. I'd seen the way he treated girls he just wanted to 'fuck and duck.' (Where did the world of horny teenagers even get that expression, anyways?) And I'd seen the way he treated girls who were just friends, like Isabelle. And he didn't treat me either of those ways. It was more like something in the middle. He protected me and I was starting to think he genuinely cared, but he flirted and stared all the time, too.

So maybe.....

But he was Jace. And I was just Clary.

"It's like Isabelle said, I care about you and you care about me. It's that simple."

Except it's not.

But he didn't give me time to say anything about it, because suddenly he was right in front of me and then his lips came crashing down on mine. It wasn't like Sebastian, whose lips had been angry and hard and painful. With Jace there was a gentleness that took my breath away, but also a passion that enticed me and made me want more. His lips were soft and warm, and the hands around my waist were spreading heat all across me. After the initial shock, I moved my lips against his and put my hands up to tangle them in his hair. He shivered a little as I ran my hands through it.

And then I realized something else. I _wanted_ this. I'd wanted this the first moment I met him, even though he was an arrogant bastard, but I'd told myself that I didn't want it because I knew it would never happen.

But it was. It was happening. Right. Freaking. Now.

I finally had to pull away to take a breath. Jace drew back a little and put his forehead against mine, keeping his hands on my waist. We were both breathing hard, and we waited a moment until we both calmed down.

Then I pulled away.

Jace shot me a confused look, and although he tried to hide it, I saw the flash of hurt in his eyes.

I took a deep breath. "Jace, people like you can't just change in a few weeks. And I really don't feel like walking into a room to find you making out with some other girl."

Jace rolled his eyes. I'm saying I don't want to get cheated on, and he's _rolling his eyes_? "Clary, I haven't dated as many girls as you seem to think. Actually, I haven't really dated _any_ girls."

"I said making out. With most guys, just because you start making out doesn't mean you're dating."

He rolled his eyes again. "I guess that's true. But Clary," He turned serious and put one hand on my cheek. "I've never had actual feelings for a girl. After I met you, I didn't feel like there were any other girls _out_ there. I feel like I don't even see anyone but you, Clary. And I know that that's not going to change."

And looking into his eyes, I believed him. I knew he was telling the truth. So I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his.

This kiss was different. It still took my breath away, but it had a kind finality to it. Like we would always be able to do it.

But why does nothing ever stay that way?

Because suddenly the glass of Izzy's window shattered and something that didn't even look real jumped in, and Jace pulled a glowing blade out from under Izzy's bed.

**Yeah, I know it's short, but you just got a chapter yesterday! So you have no right to be angry. *sticks tongue out***

**And remember, reviews inspire me to write faster. They're almost better than fruit roll-ups. (I swear, I'm addicted to those things. They're just so good.) But I'm addicted to reviews, too.**


	10. Kind of an Explanation

**A/N: Yeesh! You people are all so impatient! Yes, I know. Evil cliffhanger. But I update fast, (usually) so you can all calm down. Here's your chapter, okay? And thank you for all the reviews! (And the other stuff too) I woke up this morning with so many e-mails from fanfiction. So thanks!**

**And yeah, I'm not good at describing physical fighting. Give me something verbal and I'm good, insults seem to be my specialty, but sorry if this kind of sucks.**

**Disclaimer: I know I only put these things in sporadically, but do I really need one every chapter? Obviously, if I owned Jace I would not be dong _this_ right now.**

**And yes, I know this chapter completely sucks.  
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**Songs:**

**Young Money- Vita Chambers**

**Life After You- Daughtry**

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**Clary POV**

I'm honestly not sure what happened next. All I could really seem to focus on was the fact that there was some creepy, ugly, winged thing in Isabelle's room right now, and Jace was holding a _glowing _blade. Knives don't glow. That's just not natural.

Jace pushed me over to the other side of the room, and everything after that was a blur. Jace seemed to move faster than humanly possible, in a battle with the creature and trying to keep the thing away from me.

Jace suddenly grunted as the creature threw a blow to his ribs. Jace immediately struck back with his blade, but the creature dodged it just in time. No, not creature.

_Demon._

I don't know why I thought that, but I knew it was right.

I heard Jace grunt again, and I suddenly felt useless. Like a damsel in distress or something.

I didn't like that feeling.

But I figured that if I tried to do something, I'd just get in the way, so I stayed still and tried not to let the demon notice me.

And then it was finally over as Jace shoved the knife into the demon.

_"Valentine will find his child. And when he does, you, boy, you'd better run. The two of his children, they together will be the ones to destroy your world, Jace Wayland." _It hissed. Jace pulled his blade out, and then the weirdest thing happened.

It burst into flames. Some weird black thing appeared behind it and then it burst into flames. _It burst into freaking flames!_

Jace stared down at it in disgust, then turned back to me with a gentler expression. I knew that expression. It's the expression you give a person on the verge of a breakdown.

"What was that?" I asked, sounding eerily calm.

"What exactly did you see?" He asked edgily.

I sighed. "You don't answer a question with a question, Wayland. I saw an ugly, wrinkly black thing. With wings."

Jace looked....shocked doesn't even begin to describe it. "No, that's not possible..." He muttered to himself.

I snorted. "Well, that _thing_ wasn't possible either. And the fact that it burst into flames because you stabbed it isn't possible. And the fact that your freaking blade _glowed_ isn't possible. But unless I just hallucinated that whole thing, it all just happened."

Jace sat down on Izzy's bed and motioned for me to come and sit next to him. I did so a little cautiously. "Clary, you shouldn't have been able to see the demon for what it really was. It had a glamour on. And you...You just saw right through it."

"...Huh?"

He sighed. "I really shouldn't be explaining this to you. Look, that was a demon. I'm a shadowhunter. So are some other people. We hunt demons, and you shouldn't have been able to see that."

"I thought we were past the whole 'you shouldn't have been able to it' thing."

"Clary, I shouldn't even be telling you any of this. If you were a shadowhunter, I'd know. And you wouldn't be asking about glowing blades."

"About that," I said, even though I knew he wasn't done yet. "What exactly was that?"

"It was a seraph blade." He said impatiently. "But that's not the point. Why are you taking this so calmly?"

"I really don't know." I answered honestly. "It freaks me out, but I think curiosity is getting the best of me."

"Curiosity killed the cat." He muttered.

I smiled a little. "No, curiosity kidnapped the cat, starved it, put it in the snow, tried to drown it, and then flayed the cat. But that doesn't stop me from being curious."

He smiled even though I could tell he didn't want to. Then he turned serious, and he sounded a little exasperated. "Angel, Clary, I'm not even allowed to tell you any of this. Just forget what you saw and forget what I told you. Go home and don't come back." At the end he turned cold and distant again.

"But-"

"No!" His eyes blazed with anger, and he started ushering me towards the door. "Go home now, Clary!" And then he pushed me out the door and got me down the stairs. Izzy started to ask something, but Jace shut her up with a look and grabbed my bag. Then he took hold of my forearm and started pulling me towards the front door.

"Jace...Ow! Would you let go of my arm?" When I whimpered in pain he loosened his grip but didn't let go. He opened the door and threw my bag on the porch, doing almost the same thing to me.

"Jace, what-" I didn't get a chance to finish because he slammed the door in my face.

After standing there for probably ten minutes, I picked up my bag and walked numbly back to my own house. When my mom heard the door close, she came in from the kitchen.

"What are you doing home? I thought you were staying at the Lightwood's for the night?" When I didn't answer, she seemed to get a closer look at my face. "What's wrong?" She asked, coming over to me.

I sighed. If Jace wasn't supposed to tell _me_ anything, then I probably shouldn't tell my mother. She seemed to sense my distress so she put her arms around me.

I knew I shouldn't tell her, but I was _so_ confused right now. Jace's answers (if you could even call them that) had only left me with more questions. And although I knew my mom couldn't answer them, but for some reason I felt like if I told her, it would somehow make me feel better.

But then I remembered something.

I froze, and my mom noticed.

_Angel._ That word. Jace said it. Isabelle and Alec, Sebastian and Aline. They all said it.

And my mom said it, too.

And Jace had said that there were other shadowhunters. And he'd gotten that blade from under _Izzy's_ bed, and I was pretty sure that normal people didn't use _glowing_ blades. Which meant that Izzy was a shadowhunter, too, and it would make sense if Alec was one.

I stepped back. "What exactly do you know about demons, Mom?"

She turned her head sharply to look at me. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." If I was being truthful, I wanted to believe her. I wanted to be able to believe that everything I'd seen tonight was really real. I wanted to be able to forget about it.

But I wouldn't be able to. I knew that. "Stop lying. Just tell me everything you know about shadowhunters and demons."

My mother sighed. She went to sit on the couch, and I joined her. We were silent for a few minutes as she decided whether or not to tell me. Finally, she sighed again, and started to explain.

"You have to understand, Clary, that I only did what I did to protect you."

I sighed. "How about you start from the _beginning._"

She drew in a deep breath, as if she was preparing herself. "Demons are real. And so are a lot of other things." Then she started to explain things about The Mortal Instruments, and how the original shadowhunter, Jonathan Shadowhunter, created a race of people that could send demons back to their own dimensions.

"Dimensions?"

"Yes, Clary, dimensions. There are ones other than this, and that's where the demons live. But occasionally they find a portal into our world. So shadowhunters send them back to their own dimensions."

"How in the world do they do that?"

"It's very complicated, but the simple explanation is the fact that the Nepilim are a different race. They're trained from practically birth, and the runes they have can help to protect them."

The conversation went on for hours; For every sentence she explained, it was like I had another two questions.

But finally, we were both done.

Or not.

"But why can I suddenly see the demons for what they really are?"

My mom sighed, and panic flashed in her eyes, like she was hoping I'd forgotten about that. "Because, Clary, you have Nephilim blood in you, too. Your father and I were both shadowhunters.

I probably should have asked something about that, but I didn't. "But why haven't I been able to see them?"

"Because....I...I had to get someone to block parts of your mind. A warlock. Clary, it was for your own safety. You needed to grow up as a mundane, it was the only way I could protect you."

I should have been angry. I should have been completely furious with her for taking a part of my life. But I just didn't have the energy.

"Does all of this have anything to do with why we had to suddenly pack up and leave?" I asked wearily.

She sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that night. "Yes, Clary. You're father, he's...Let's just say he's not a good man. And I couldn't let him find us, find you. He's the reason we had to hide. He'll do anything to get to you, and I can't let that happen. He's an evil man, and he wants to use you."

"So you hid me in the mundane world." I stated slowly.

"Yes. I know you're angry, Clary, but I needed to do it. He's a cruel and ruthless man who experimented on anyone and thought other people's lives were expendable."

And without another word, she got up and walked up the stairs to her bedroom.

I should have screamed and screamed at her for hiding all of this from me. She'd taken away a whole other _life_ from me. I think that's a pretty good excuse to throw a few tantrums. But I just couldn't muster the energy.

At first I was angry at Jace, though, for not telling me. But then I realized that that wasn't fair. After everything my mother had told me about the Clave and the Council and their laws, I realized that there was no way he could have told me.

And then I got angry at him all over again.

So I went outside and walked up to the Lightwood's door. I knew it was late, but I could see Jace's light on. So I knocked on the door, loudly enough so that he could hear it but soft enough that it probably wouldn't wake anyone else up.

Jace finally came and opened up the door. He looked tired and vulnerable, and I almost reconsidered what I was about to do.

Almost.

I drew back my arm and then reached up and slapped him. Hard.

Apparently it was hard enough to hurt (which made me a little proud) and he put his hand up to his face, grunting a little.

"What the hell was that for?"

"For kissing me and then shoving me out the door and slamming it in my face!"

He almost smiled, and then he came out on the porch, closing the door behind him. It was then that I realized what he was wearing. Boxer shirts and a very form-fitting black tank top.

Oh, God, help me.

"That's not what I expected." I tore my eyes away from his abs and looked up into his tawny eyes.

"Yeah, well, I probably should be angry about you not explaining, but I found out tonight that I really _can't _be angry at you for that."

His eyes turned cautious. "Why can't you be angry?"

I smirked, knowing that I was about to do something that was almost unheard of: Shock Jace Wayland. "Because it's against your laws, isn't it?"

His eyes flashed with some emotion that I couldn't decipher, and then he asked, "What did you just say?"

"I think you heard me." I was still smirking. "Doesn't the Clave forbid you from telling me any of this?" Then I paused and put on a different expression, pretending to consider something. "Well, not really, since I'm actually allowed to know, but they forbid you from telling mundanes. And you thought I was a mundane."

Jace stared at me with wonder and excitement in his eyes. "You're not..." He breathed.

Then he put his arms around me and picked me up off the ground, pressing his lips to mine with an almost scary intensity. After indulging for a few minutes, I broke away and asked him to put me down. I was a little lightheaded, though, so it was probably a good thing that he still kept his arms around me.

"But if you're...one of us, then why didn't you know?"

I sighed. "My mom...She needed to protect me. So she raised me in the human world and made sure that I never knew anything about Nephilim or downworlders or demons." I could tell he wanted me to elaborate more, but I didn't want to say anything else.

We just stood there for a little while, until I remembered I was supposed to be mad at him. I pulled away. "Don't think I've forgiven you yet."

He smirked. "I'll bet I can make you forgive me." He moved in to kiss me but I quickly slid out of the way, smiling. He pouted, and I laughed.

But then I remembered something.

"What exactly was that demon talking about earlier?"

Jace sighed and put a warm arm around me. "Valentine. He's pretty much the worst of the best. He thinks that we're stupid for signing the Accords, that we should wipe out all the downworlders. He's been trying to find The Mortal Instruments for a long time, but we've kind of been preventing it however we can."

"What was it saying about his kids?"

Jace sighed again and got a kind of faraway look in her eyes. "Supposedly, Valentine has two kids. He experimented on them somehow, something about mixing demon and angel blood in them before they were even born. They say that one of his kids has demon blood in it, and the other on has angel blood. They're supposed to have some pretty amazing powers, but Valentine is angry with them both because their mother took one and the other one apparently isn't working out so well."

"How has he not been caught yet?"

Jace gave a ghost of a smile. "He's cold, he's ruthless, and he's good at hiding. He had people believing he was dead for years. If he doesn't want us to find him, then we won't."

I should have been completely terrified after everything I'd learned tonight. Either that or I should have though that I was completely insane. But for some reason, I was just accepting it all.

Chalk it up to shock. I would probably be freaking out tomorrow morning.

But then I realized something Jace had just said. Cold. Ruthless. The exact same words my mother had used to describe my father. And Jace had said something about how Valentine's children's mother had taken one of the kids. And my mother had said something about my father experimenting, and Jace had said Valentine experimented with his children.....

Uh oh.

**I know that this chapter was really crappy, and I'm sorry, but I was just too lazy to actually explain everything. Besides, you already know it all. And if you don't, then why the hell are you reading this?**

**I'm not entirely sure when the next chapter is going to be up, it depends on whether or not I get any sudden ideas. And sorry if there are any mistakes, I don't have a beta (which I'm actually okay with) but I couldn't be bothered to go over it when I was done. Too horrified by what I'd written to reread it.  
**


	11. Emotions

**A/N: READ THIS: Just to let you know, I changed the nicknames because I was getting tired of people telling me that they were in other stories, even when I specifically stated more than once that they weren't mine and that I don't know who originally came up with it, because even though I first saw it in ddpjclaf's story 'Turbulence', I've also seen it in probably five or six others, and I don't know who thought of it first. But I was getting tired of hearing it, so now Jace originally called Clary Annie and she calls him King Asshat. I replaced all the chapters and added some stuff in and edited them. They're stupid nicknames, but I came up with them really quickly so no one can get all pissy with me by PM.  
**

**And sorry for the wait, but I was busy reading some other books, like Need by Carrie Jones. It's kind of weird because it involves people who leave gold dust when they walk, and I thought I would hate it, but I ended up loving it and I had to get the sequel before I could start writing again.  
**

**Songs:**

**Into Your Arms- The Maine (I know I've used it before, but I feel like it's the perfect song for Jace and Clary)**

**Breathe- Ryan Star**

**

* * *

**

**Clary POV**

Valentine. My father.

The rational part of me said that I couldn't really be sure, but the rest of me somehow knew it was true.

I stiffened, and Jace noticed. He shot me a questioning look and opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off. "I should go home now." I said. My voice sounded cold and dead, and I knew that Jace noticed this, too. "I think I need some sleep." I pulled away from him and stood up, walking away.

"Clary!" He called after me. I didn't turn around, I just kept walking faster and by the time I got to my own front door I was practically running. I heard Jace still calling after me, but I ignored it and slammed the door, walking numbly up to my room.

I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Ask my mom? She wouldn't tell me. And there was no way I could say anything to any of the Lightwoods; If Valentine was as bad as Jace said, they'd probably turn me into the Clave.

It was weird, I'd only known about this world for hours, but somehow it felt _right_. Like I'd already known the big parts, just not the details. Kind of like my 4th grade knowledge of....'reproduction' as they'd called it then.

But just because it felt right didn't mean that it was good. Exhibit A: I was pretty sure this Valentine guy was my father. And that was definitely a bad thing. I have no idea how I knew he was my father, I just did. It was that gut feeling that told you you were right even when you didn't want to be.

I was going to ask my mom about it, but when I got back to the house it was obvious that she was already asleep. I walked upstairs to my room, which was full of boxes, a few of which I tripped over as I tried to find the one labeled "Clary's clothes."

As I numbly put on my pajamas and got into bed, it seemed as if everything just...hit me.

Demons were real. Werewolves and fairies and who knows what else were real. There was a whole world that my mother had hidden from me, a whole other life I could have had. And my father was an insane psychopath and I could possibly be imprisoned just because I was related to him.

With everything that had happened, I probably shouldn't have been able to fall asleep so quickly. But thankfully, I did, and my dreams were full of a certain golden-blond boy who lived next door.

When I woke up in the morning, I felt a little weird about that, but hey, better than nightmares about being locked in some cell while a freak who called himself my dad tried to experiment on me.

Gee, I have such positive thoughts, don't I?

But hey, where would we be without optimism?

Nowhere. Because we'd probably all have committed suicide by then.

....Well....The happy thoughts can only last so long.

* * *

Avoiding Isabelle, Alec, _and_ Jace wasn't as easy as I'd originally thought. Apparently Jace had told his 'siblings' all about how I suddenly knew about their world, and it wasn't hard for me to figure out that Aline and Sebastian were both shadowhunters and that Jace _hadn't_ told them.

But even if it was hard to avoid them, I still tried. I refused to eat lunch in the cafeteria, and I switched seats with someone in Biology so that I didn't have to sit next to Jace. If Izzy was walking down the hallway towards me, I ran the other way, dodging behind other people. And if Alec ever tried to talk to me during Spanish, I just started talking to Cara, who sat next to me.

It was like I was "hiding in the mouth of the wolf," as Simon would have said. He'd always told me that that meant you were hiding in the most obvious place, where people would never think to look. But I thought that it meant that you were trying to find a place to hide in the midst of chaos, that no matter what was happening you were determined to get away and hide. See, if a wolf is trying to eat you, then you hide in it's mouth, in the middle of all the commotion. Not that that would work or anything, but it's just a metaphor.

Yeah, way to go all philosophical, Clary.

But that's what I thought it meant, plain and simple. And that's pretty much how I felt, too.

The only people from the 'group' that I still talked to were Cara and Kyle. They didn't understand what was going on, and Kyle even asked me about it once, but when they realized my reluctance to say anything about it, so they just started helping me. And if any of the Lightwoods ever asked the two of them about me, they just said I was busy and a little overwhelmed with the whole new school thing.

School was the last thing I was worried about, but it definitely made a good excuse.

I meant to ask my mom about Valentine, but every time I tried my throat closed up and I just couldn't get the words out.

So I spent the next three weeks completely avoiding the people I had the best connection with, my mother, and thinking about anything that even remotely had to do with Nephilim.

Needless to say, those were the hardest three weeks of my life. I wasn't getting any sleep because I'd started having horrible, terrifying nightmares.

And it was starting to show. My hair was always limp and dull looking, (not that I tried to hard to fix it) I was paler than usual, and there were always bags under my eyes. Classic not-getting-any-sleep-at-all signs.

And it didn't help that every time I saw Jace, my resolve to stay away wavered. There were a few times when I'd already started walking up to him to say something, anything, but then a vision of that demon flew in front of my eyes, and the words Jace had said about Valentine ran through my head.

I always ended up turning around and hightailing it in the other direction.

Izzy seemed to get the message before the others, and whenever she saw me she made sure to throw a hurt glance in my direction and then look away. But I think she told Jace and Alec to leave me alone, because they finally stopped trying to talk to me, and they started ignoring me as efficiently as I was ignoring them. It hurt, but it was for the best. (God, that sounds cliche.) Besides, I'd been ignoring them first. And I think it made it easier for me; If they weren't trying to talk to me, if Jace wasn't sending me those cute little looks all the time...

Yeah. It was easier this way.

* * *

**Jace POV**

I don't know what I did. Or what Isabelle did. Or if it was Alec. But Clary wouldn't say one word to me.

At first, when Isabelle told us what was going on, I tried even harder to talk to her. But seeing the look on her face, the careful and hesitant stubbornness, I knew that trying to say something to her would probably hurt her even more.

But I still watched her. I felt a strange tug in my heart when I saw how pale and sad she looked. I wanted to pull her into my arms and comfort her, but I knew that wouldn't help.

And after I felt that, I felt pathetic. Where was Jace Wayland, risk-taking Shadowhunter? Where was the Jace that didn't give a damn, the Jace that would never have even remotely cared whether or not a girl looked sad unless she thought she was going to cry on my shoulder? (In which case I only would have only cared enough to be angry.)

And then after that I felt guilty for feeling pathetic. Clary didn't deserve that, she deserved someone who cared about her and didn't feel bad about it.

And then I got angry. _She_ was the one giving _me_ the cold shoulder, pretending like I didn't even exist. The one that didn't seem to care about me. She didn't _want_ me to care about her.

But I did. I cared about her.

And then I finally just got a little annoyed, because I realized that the old Jace Wayland was probably never coming back. And that was Clary's fault.

I would've gotten angry again, but I just didn't have the energy. I'd never felt so many emotions all at once, and I knew that was Clary's fault, too. But I couldn't bring myself to be angry at her, because she looked so torn and....defeated. Like she'd just given up or something. On what, I wasn't sure, but that's sure what it seemed like.

I knew I was being pathetic, because I was always distracted by thoughts of her and what I could do to help her.

Like now, for example.

Izzy was practically screaming in my ear to get my attention. I flinched a little as I finally realized what was going on. She gave me a kind of sympathetic look before she spoke.

"Let me guess, you were thinking about how to help Clary."

I just avoided looking at her, and I heard her sigh. "She doesn't _want_ our help, Jace. Maybe she's just exhausted because her mom is teaching her about our world or something. But it's obvious that she doesn't want to talk to us right now, and she'll come to us when she does."

Izzy could be so frustrating sometimes!

But I knew she was right. I sighed and said reluctantly, "Yeah, okay." Then I grinned a little. "But I have a feeling that she won't be gone for long. Who could stay away from this face for any longer?"

Alec rolled his eyes from across the living room. "Not even Clary can make Jace any less of a self-conceited nuisance."

I shot a cheeky grin at him.

That's right. No matter how much Clary changed about me, she would never change that part.

Hey, at least I have _something_ to hold onto.

**I'm not sure if it was good or not, but I won't say much else because of the huge AN at the top. Again, sorry for the wait. And sorry if there are any mistakes. But review!!! Pretty pretty please?**

**(And the whole 'mouth of the wolf thing' is from a book we have to read for school about the Holocaust. I swear, we never read any _normal _books. They're all about racism or the Holocaust. It's been that way since, like, seventh grade or something.)  
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	12. Confrontations and Forests

**A/N: I hadn't originally planned to update this early, but I'm stuck in the hospital with a severe concussion and I can't sleep for the next 24 hours. I'm without any of my books (although I've finished almost all of them) and this was really the only way I could think to stay awake. But I wrote most of this around three in the morning, so don't blame me if it's completely suckish.**

**Also, I would definitely recommend the book 'Hex Hall' by Rachel Hawkins. It is officially my new favorite book. I'd also recommend 'Shiver' by Maggie Steifvater and 'Fallen' by Lauren Kate, although neither was as good as Hex Hall. People have complained about things in 'Fallen', like how pathetic the main girl is, but she _knows_ she's pathetic. That makes it so much better.**

**Songs:**

**The Scientist- Coldplay**

**Broken- Seether w/ Amy Lee**

**I Never Told You- Colbie Caillet**

**Clary POV**

**I'd never realized how _boring_ life could be when you didn't have anyone to hang out with. Back home, I'd never really had to worry about it, because Simon didn't have too many other friends so I was always with him. But now that I couldn't talk to Jace or Alec or Isabelle, I was basically at odds with myself. My mother had taken to avoiding me because **she was tired of all of my questions. (Which she didn't feel the need to answer, thank you very much.)

I started trying to learn everything I could on my own, and I even went to Maryse for help a few times when no one else was around. She was very kind to me and as helpful as possible, and she gave me a few books to study from. When I'd left, she'd given me this sympathetic and understanding look, like she knew exactly what was going on in my head, and then said, "No matter what you truly are, Jace's feelings aren't going to change for you, Clarissa."

That had freaked me out a little bit, considering I hadn't told anyone about the whole Valentine possibly/most likely being my father thing. And I honestly didn't plan on it.

Honesty is the best policy. Isn't that what they say?

But I think that when honesty can get you killed, you're allowed to break that policy. And if you're not, then this is a seriously effed up world.

I think the thing that killed me the most was the hurt looks that sometimes crossed across Jace's face. Or maybe it was the fact that after a while, he just seemed to give up on me and turned back into the hurtful ass again.

I'd started eating lunch in the cafeteria because I was tired of all the stares, even though Kyle and Cara said that they would come and sit with me at a different lunch table. I just refused and started to kind of disappear. The only joy I found during the days where the fact that Jace had seemed to have forgotten that he could have any girl in the school. There was no flirting, no kissing, no groping under the desk.

That shouldn't have made me feel better. I should have blocked away my feelings for Jace.

But it did make me feel better. And I couldn't get rid of my feelings for Jace. They were staying there, getting unbearably worse every day, and sometimes I vaguely wondered if he ever felt the same way. But it hurt whenever I thought about it, so I tried to forget it all and just read the books Maryse had given me and learn everything I could about the life my mother had taken away from me.

I was doing this one day during lunch in the library when a voice whispered in my ear, "Looks like Jace's little lovely love is doing her research." I jumped and almost screamed as I turned my head to see Alec sliding into the chair next to me.

"Oh, no, Alec," Izzy said, pulling out the chair across from me and plopping down on it elegantly. "She's just trying to prove to herself that Jace isn't worthy of her." She wasn't looking at me, just staring at her bright purple nails.

"What?" I exclaimed angrily. "How could anyone think that?"

Isabelle looked at me then, raising a perfectly manicured eyebrow. She leaned forward with an intense expression. "I think that everyone thinks that, dear Clarissa. You just left him high and dry right after he helped you figure out who you really are." She leaned even closer across the table, the look in her eyes scaring me a little.

Okay, not just a little. A lot.

"Do you think that you're something _special_, Clarissa?" She sneered at me. "Because you're not. The truth is, we're all above you, not the other way around, because we actually know about our own world. We're not poor, defenseless little idiotic girls that have no idea who the hell they are and would never stand a chance against one little demon."

Her words stung me, although I tried not to let it show. "That wasn't exactly my decision. The only reason I never knew was because my mother decided to prevent me from seeing it. And no, I probably wouldn't really stand a chance against a demon, but that's because I've never had nay training like the rest of you. What, you think that if you were me you would have been able to figure it out all on your own?" I replied, my voice quiet but filled with fury. I could see Alec's eyes flash a little, like he knew that now wasn't the best time to mess with me.

Isabelle leaned back and smirked. "I _know_ I could've. And so could anyone else who really _deserved_ to be one of us."

I stood up and glared at her, still not raising my voice. "That's rich, coming from someone who sounds so superior yet was preaching to me not two minutes ago that _I _needed to stop acting like I was special. Ever think that maybe you're not special, Izzy? Because from what I've read, there are other Shadowhunters. And I can guarantee that you're not the best of them."

I gathered my books and shoved them into my bag. "And you can get of your high and almighty throne, and you can tell Jace to get off his, because I haven't been completely ignoring you because I feel above you, it's because if you found out who my father was you'd most likely _kill_ me." I spat out the last part and stormed out, not staying long enough to see their reactions.

I knew that I'd said too much, but I just kept going anyways. When I realized that it was still lunch, and that I didn't really have anywhere else to go, I started out the front doors. But for some reason I felt lime if I ran, I'd be able to get away faster. Away from my own thoughts, away from the pain, away from the imagination that came up with so many ways that a Shadowhunter could kill me.

So I ran. I ran as fast as I could into the forest, not caring where I was going, not caring that I was probably getting myself lost. I wasn't even thinking about what had happened the last time I'd been in here.

I ran until my muscles ached and until my lungs begged for oxygen. I had absolutely no idea where I was, but I didn't even feel like trying to figure it out. I just plopped down on the ground, trying to give my lungs what they so badly needed. I gasped as I tried to inhale, and only thought about that. I didn't try to think about the fact that I was about to cry, or the fact that Jace might think that I thought I was too good for him.

But as soon as that popped into my head, tears fell from my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. Pathetic, I know, but at least I wasn't sobbing. The tears just rolled silently down my face, which I guess made me feel a little better.

It's just that I couldn't understand how Jace, or anyone for that matter, could think that I though of myself as too good for Jace. Truthfully, it was really the other way around. True, Jace was an arrogant ass that usually didn't seem to think of anyone but himself. But he had girls hanging off of him left and right, and I knew that he could be protective and caring.

And I was none of those things. Therefore: Jace was obviously better than me.

And yes, I know that makes me seem like I have the lowest self-esteem of all time, but it's just the truth.

The fact that Izzy (and possibly Alec) had accused me of that just made the tears fall faster.

I was done. I was done with all of it. I honestly didn't think I could handle too much more. Maybe I could ask my mom to move us to Maine or something. I don't care what state, as long as it's _far_ away from here.

I'm not sure how long I sat there, but I eventually heard twigs cracking.

This is the part where either, A) lonely girl in woods gets attacked by a rabid squirrel (deer, rabbit, raccoon, it doesn't really matter what kind of animal. I just think squirrels are evil.) or B) sad and crying girl gets kidnapped and raped by a crazy guy who belongs in a mental home and then gets saved by the knight in shining armor.

Personally? I was hoping for the rabid squirrel.

Although a squirrel wouldn't make that much noise. So maybe it was a rabid bear.

I shivered as I realized what I was thinking. Crazy much?

But then I heard the footsteps again and was snapped out of my you-totally-belong-in-an-insane-asylum thoughts. I probably should have gotten up to go somewhere else, because I really didn't want to talk to anyone, but I didn't have the energy to move. I could have at least wiped the tears off my face, but I didn't have the energy to do that either.

I was aware of a presence next to me, but I didn't want to look over. Whoever was there sighed and sat down on the ground next to me, not saying anything, waiting for me to talk.

I think I knew who it was, and when I finally summoned the courage to look up, I wasn't surprised.

Jace.

I sighed and looked away, not wanting to see his face anymore. I hadn't looked for very long, but from what I saw of his expression, he wasn't very happy.

"Clary." He said softly, although I could still hear quiet fury in his voice. "Clary, look at me." I tried to look farther away, but he caught my chin with his hand and forced me to face him.

"Alec told me what happened in the library." He said, letting go of my chin but watching me to make sure that I didn't look away again. "He said he saw you running out towards the woods." He smiled faintly. "You must be able to run pretty fast; It took me too long to find you." He looked away and sighed. "Look, what Isabelle said, I don't really believe that. I have no idea what's going on with you, but it has nothing to do with 'being too good for me.' I _know_ you don't think that, that's just not you."

The way he said it with such conviction brought more tears to my eyes. "Oh, Jace." I whispered as the tears fell. He looked at me, seeming a little alarmed, and then put his arms around me. I pressed my head into his shoulder, and we sat there until my tears finally stopped. I leaned back, feeling a little ashamed, and wiped my face.

I refused to look at Jace as I finally told Jace what I should have said long ago. "Jace, I don't want to die. And I don't want to be sent to the Clave, either. If you found out...a certain thing about me, one of those two things would happen." He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut across him. "I don't care what you think, I know you, Jace. Once you found out, you'd turn me right over to the Clave."

I finally turned away to glare out at the trees. "And I've been doing my research, as I'm sure you've noticed. The Clave doesn't exactly treat people very kindly."

Jace sighed, and when he spoke he sounded frustrated. "You really don't get it, do you, Clary? You're the only person that's ever made me feel this way, and Clary, I'm going to be damned if I have to give it up." He took my face in his hands. "I know this sounds cheesy and pathetic and cliche, but I don't care what you are, or who you are, or why you're so afraid of me. I'm not going to turn you in. Can't you understand, Clary? I don't think I can live without you anymore."

And then he kissed me.

And then I think I made the worst mistake of my life.

I pulled away.

A hurt look crossed Jace's eyes., but then his face hardened into that angry mask he sometimes gets. And I hate that.

So then _I_ kissed _him_.

It took him a moment to respond, but with a small groan he pressed his lips against mine with an intense fervor. I'm not sure how long it lasted, but I finally broke away for air. I wondered if I looked as dazed as he did.

Then he smiled that dazzling smile of his. "Well, little orphan Annie, you've surprised me yet again."

I smirked a little. "Yeah, I seem to do that a lot, don't I? And it seems as if I'm the only one that can."

He frowned slightly. "Sometimes I wonder why that is, and then I realize that I'm never going to figure that out."

I smiled. "Nope. That's one secret that I get to keep."

His brow furrowed and the arms he still had around me slid away. "Which reminds me, do you want to tell me what you've been so determined to hide lately?"

I panicked a little, and I think it showed in my eyes, but I quickly covered it up with a mischievous smile. I drew up a joke I'd once read in one of those ridiculous Twilight books. "How do you drown a blond?" I asked, fingering his golden locks.

He rolled his eyes. "I don't know. Hit him with a seraph blade and hold him under?" He said jokingly.

"No. You put a mirror at the bottom of the pool."

"What if he's swimming in a lake?"

This time I was the one that rolled my eyes. "Then you put the mirror at the bottom of the_ lake_, smart one."

He gave me an amused look, and although I knew that he knew that this wasn't why I'd been avoiding him, (I think anyone would have been able to figure that out. Besides, who could resist a good blond joke?) but he knew I didn't want to say anything so he wasn't going to press me.

He stood up and put a hand out to help me up. "Come on, Annie. Let's go to the park or something."

I started walking with him, rolling my eyes. "When are you going to stop calling me that, King Asshat?"

He smiled. "I would say when you stop calling me that weird name, but I'm starting to rather like it. King. I think it fits."

I pursed my lips as we continued to walk. "You know what, no, I'm done calling you that. I don't need a friggin' _nickname _to feed your ego, too. I think enough of that happens on its own."

"Oh, Clary, haven't you realized by now that you just being around me feeds my ego more than anything else?" He said teasingly.

I fake blushed. "Aw, Jace, now you're feeding _my_ ego."

He elbowed me. "It could use a little inflating."

This was a nice little happy bubble to be in, especially with Jace, but I knew it wouldn't last. Nothing ever does.

But I could enjoy it if I wanted to.

For now, anyways.

**Don't forget, this was written by a severe concussion filled girl at three in the morning. So please don't be harsh.**

**I'd be a _very_ happy girl if I got 110 reviews...Hell, I'd just be happy with 100. And I'm at 99 right now.**

**But the first person to review gets a summary of the next chapter. Unless you don't want it, of course, in which case you can just tell me that in the review.**

**And also, anyone who gives me a good book recommendation that actually seems interesting to me and that I haven't read yet gets an excerpt of the next chapter. I'm bored out of my mind and need something to read! I got 8 books for my birthday and I'm done with all of them except two. Pathetic, I know.  
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	13. Speak

**A/N: I'm SO SO SO SO HAPPY!!! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!! I reached my goal of 110 reviews. I'm very proud. And you all should be, too. How about we try for 120? (See, I'm only asking for 10 reviews, and that's because I stayed up so late to write this because I have to go shopping tomorrow. Time to buy some new books!! But at least I'm not asking for 20 or 30 reviews like some stories I know.)  
**

**See? I can be reasonable when I want to be.**

**And sorry if Isabelle seems a little mean and OOC in this chapter. She might be for a while, but she'll be normal again sometime in the next few chapters. I just kind of needed this to happen.**

**And I was freaked out throughout this whole chapter, because I was writing it in my bed and the entire time there was a spider on the ceiling right above me. I'm not really afraid of spiders or anything, but I didn't want it to, like, fall on me or something.  
**

**Songs:**

**Animal- Neon Trees**

**On Your Own- Green River Ordinance**

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* * *

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**Clary POV**

I was going to _kill_ my mother.

She'd been talking to Mayrse Lightwood, who'd mentioned that Jace, Alec, and Isabelle were going to the basketball game at school tonight. And Mom just conveniently mentioned that I'd always loved going to the games back at my old school. (Not really. I'd just gone to placate her so that I didn't have to listen to her yelling at me about being antisocial.)

So what did Mayrse do? She told her children that I was going to the game with them.

It was bad enough that I'd had that mistake kiss with Jace that I didn't know how to take back, but Isabelle probably thought I was a complete bitch, and I had no idea what Alec thought.

But needless to say, it was the most awkward car ride of my life. Jace knew something weird was going on, but he wasn't stupid enough to question it. Me? I really wanted to say something, but I didn't want to get my head bitten off by a certain dark-haired beauty.

So we sat in silence, and when we got to the school, Jace pulled me aside.

"Clary, what the hell is going on with you and my sister? I know she said some stuff to you in the library that day, but you know she didn't mean it. Izzy's just a little impulsive sometimes."

This was the perfect opportunity. I knew that I shouldn't do it, but it was the easiest way to keep myself safe. And it was probably the best way to keep Jace safe, too.

I knew that Valentine was the reason we'd had to leave in the middle of the night, why we had to lie and say we were from Georgia or Virginia or whatever the heck it was. As for the pictures, I'd pretty much deduced that there was a good chance that Valentine didn't know he had a daughter. And my mom had wanted to keep it that way, so she'd pretty much destroyed any evidence that I'd ever been there.

So I sneered at Jace. "Yeah, it seems like you're whole family's that way."

I knew this would piss him off, and I wasn't even remotely surprised by his reaction. "What did you just say about my family?" He snarled.

I smirked. This conversation was going exactly where I wanted it to. "You're all impulsive. And shallow, too. And not in a good way. I mean, think about it. Isabelle thinks about nothing but how to appeal to guys, Mayrse won't do anything but clean, Robert's always talking about the Council, and you say 'mirror, mirror, on the wall, we all know I'm the fairest of them all.'" I couldn't bring myself to say anything about Max, just doing what I'd done almost hurt too much. And the only thing I could really say about Alec was about how he was gay, and that just didn't seem right.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "At least we all have some actual feelings. And at least Iz isn't constantly PMSing." Then he walked away to sit next to Isabelle on the bleachers.

I blew out a breath and sank down to the floor, my back against the wall, and drew my knees up so I could rest my head on them. Alec found me like that ten minutes later, took one look at me, and sank right down next to me.

He sighed. "What happened now?"

I gave him a weak little smile. "I think I'm turning into a prime time drama queen that's trying to be a hero by saving everyone else when she's really just digging herself her own depressing and miserable grave."

He rolled his eyes. "What did you do to him? Jace is sitting there, just brooding."

I blinked innocently. "What makes you think _I_ did anything?"

He laughed. "Clary, you are the absolute _only_ one that can make him do that now."

I sighed and put my face back on my knees. "I kind of insulted your family because I knew it would make him angry." I mumbled sheepishly.

I couldn't see him, but I knew Alec was probably giving me a weird look. "But Clary, you two both like each other. There's nothing standing in the way now that you know you're a Shadowhunter too. Why would you do that?"

He sounded so innocently curious, it made my heart ache for my old life. The life where I was just a normal outcast that no one really payed attention to. The one where I was blissfully ignorant. If I could be like Alec, and not know the truth, then I wonder how different everything would be right now. In just a few short weeks I'd learned that I wasn't entirely human, that things like vampires and werewolves and demons existed, and that I had a sadistic father that everyone seemed to be after.

I took in a deep breath, steeling myself for what I was about to say. "Alec...What I'm about to tell you, it's not...Just don't tell anyone, okay?" I turned to stare him right in the eye, and although he looked very confused, he nodded. "I'm not kidding, Alec. You can't tell anyone, not Jace or Isabelle or your mom or...Just don't say anything, okay?"

He smiled a little, although he looked worried. "I, Alec Lightwood, swear on the River Styx that I will never tell anyone unless given explicit permission by you, Clarissa Fray."

I breathed out loudly, barely believing that I was going to do this. But I had to tell someone, I was going to go insane if I didn't. I looked at him again. "I hate to sound all dramatic here, but...Valentine is my father."

Alec stared at me in blank incomprehension for a few seconds, but then understanding dawned on his face. His eyes tensed with worry, and he asked, "Are you sure?"

"Pretty much. My mom hasn't exactly confirmed it, but when you put the pieces together...Yeah. I'm sure."

He leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling while I stared at him. After a few minutes he glanced at me and asked, "Waiting for me to whip out my seraph blade and stab you? Or just waiting for me to run around screaming 'OMG OMG CRAZY GUYS' DAUGHTER IS RIGHT HERE.'"

I smiled. "A little of both, I guess."

"I told you I wasn't going to say anything. From what I've seen, I don't think you're in league with him or anything. Unless you're just an amazing actor, which I can't really believe since you're an atrocious liar."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Using big words now, are we? And Jace seemed to believe my lies fifteen minutes ago."

"Jace wants to believe the worst in people. He thinks he's safer that way. If there's an out, he's almost always going to take it, just because you give it to him. If you give him an out, he feels like he _has_ to use it. I don't know why. That's just the way he is. But you can't sit here forever and mope about it." He stood up and offered me his hand. "Come on, let's go watch some basketball!" He said with fake enthusiasm. I shook my head, giggling a little, and followed him to the bleachers where Isabelle and Jace sat. Isabelle glared at me, and Jace just flat-out refused to look at me.

Alec sighed as I sat down next to him, giving Jace and Isabelle a disdained look.

Isabelle noticed. "What?" She asked nastily. "You expect me to say anything to miss high-and-mighty over there? Look, she doesn't have the right to think anything about us. She's just a wannabe Nephilim who's never going to get anywhere in our world. And she's never going to get anywhere with _you_, either, Jace. You should just give up your little fantasy of the stupid and idiotic mundane, Jace, because you know it's not going anywhere. She's a bitch who doesn't deserve someone like that Magnus Bane guy, much less you. She's probably better off with that molester, Verlac." She looked (*cough cough* glared *cough cough*) at me and finished, "And you know what? I bet she liked what he did to her in the woods."

And then in true Clary Fray fashion, Isabelle stormed out of the gymnasium in the middle of a basketball game. Jace stared open mouthed after her, while Alec had a faint look of disgust etched on his face. Jace glanced at me, and flinched a little when he saw my defeated expression.

I knew that I had to distance myself from the whole Lightwood family. (Although the fact that I'd just told Alec my deepest secret kind of defeated the purpose of that.) But I think somewhere in my subconscious, I was hoping that somehow it would all work out and I would be able to get my old life back, with the plus of a few new friends.

Gee, unrealistic much, Clary?

But I knew that I looked utterly defeated now. The fact that Jace didn't like that made me feel a little better, but then I remembered that _I really didn't want to die _and that _I really didn't want Jace to die either._

I looked away and I heard Alec sigh. "Angel, you two drive me insane. Just kiss and make up already, okay? Jace, Clary didn't mean it and she's sorry. She's just PMSing. I gave her some Midol and now she's okay."

I snorted and Jace smirked a little. "Do I _want_ to know why you had Midol?"

Alec turned bright red and we both Jace and I both started laughing. He walked off, sputtering something about having accidentally grabbing it instead of the Advil.

Jace still laughing, said, "He didn't really give me any Midol, did he?" I shook my head, also still laughing. "But he has some, doesn't he?"

"Judging from that performance, yeah, I would assume he does." After a few minutes we finally sobered up, and I think Jace suddenly remembered what I'd said earlier.

I really felt like some girl from one of those stupid movies, the one who just keeps playing with the same guy, getting with him and immediately leaving him high and dry.

And I'd never wanted to be one of those girls. I'd always laughed at how pathetic and indescice they were.

And now I was one of them. It didn't matter that I had a good reason, I was still one of them. And not only did that make me feel completely cliche, it also wasn't fair to Jace.

He stood up and without looking at me, said, "I know you didn't mean what you said. And Isabelle didn't mean what she said either. I don't know why either of you said those things, and I don't even want to try to figure it out. When people said it's impossible to know what's going on in a girl's head, they weren't kidding." Then he walked away, following after Alec and Isabelle.

Not two minutes ago, we'd been laughing. And the he'd gone back to stoic, unfeeling, you-can't-touch-me Jace.

I was seriously starting to wonder if he was bipolar.

And then I realized something: Alec, Izzy, and Jace had all walked out on the basketball game.

I didn't think I had a ride anymore.

**A little shorter than usual, but I just updated two days ago. So you're not allowed to be mad.**

**And just to let you know, if anyone needs a beta I'm available. I need something to do with my life other than read and go to Bayshore. Although technically I guess I'd be reading anyways...Whatever.  
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	14. Thin Lines

**A/N: I shouldn't be updating this early, (don't get used to it) but it was the weekend and I'm very happy from shopping earlier and the plot bunnies have inhabited my mind. (The dust bunnies, too, I think. I found six of them under my bed earlier and then they just kind of disappeared, so....)**

**I think I've also had a little too much coffee....And it's like, six o'clock! Not what I call coffee time.  
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**Thanks to all the reviewers!**

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: *searches under kitchen table for cookie that she dropped* Goddammit, where is it!?!**

**Jace: Why are you looking for a cookie when you have me?**

**Me: *glares* Because it was a good cookie. And you're not shirtless. *grins mischievously* But you know what would make me feel better?**

**Jace: *looks scared* What?**

**Me: Owning The Mortal Instruments.**

**Jace: *snorts* Sorry, but you're not Cassandra Clare. So no Jace for you.**

**Me: Goddammit!**

**Songs:**

**If We Ever Meet Again- Timbaland ft. Katy Perry**

**All I Ever Wanted- Kelly Clarkson**

**Animal- Neon Trees  
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**Clary POV**

You know that moment in your life where everything around you seems to freeze, your mind goes blank, and you can't see anything except what's going on in front of you at that exact moment?

That was happening to me right now.

Because I was sitting in my yard, it was dark out, no one could see me, and Jace and Aline were making out on the porch of the Lightwood house.

So yeah. It was one of those moments.

It was also one of those moments where you want to scream and cry and go punch someone in the face. Or maybe two someones.

I'd just been calmly sitting out by the side of my house, trying to remember the things I needed to know for my Biology test, when they'd come outside, Aline giggling like a drunk. Then she's promptly threw her arms around Jace and practically attacked his mouth. He hadn't put his arms around her anything, but he was facing away from me and I was too far away to tell whether or not he was responding to her. For all I knew, he might not be.

Oh, come on, who're you kidding, Clary. It's _Jace._

I just couldn't watch anymore, so I quickly slipped back into the house as quietly as possible, seething. Even though I had no right.

I was the one who'd kinda sorta dumped Jace even though we'd never actually done the whole relationship thing. So to any rational degree, he had the right to do anything with anyone he wanted.

But my brain's not exactly rational even at its best moments.

My mom wasn't home, and I didn't know what to do with myself. Angry Clary always needs to do something to get the energy out of her before she does something that she'll regret when she's not so angry anymore.

So I called Kyle and asked him to meet me at the nearest club.

"Why exactly do you want to do this?"

"I just need to release some pent-up energy." I sighed.

I knew he was grinning. "Well, Clary, there's this little thing that teenagers do that involves no clothing..."

"Will you just shut up and meet me there?"

"Yeah, all right, I'll go. I'll call Cara and she'll come and pick you up, since we both know you'll never find the place on your own."

After we hung up, I took a quick shower, trying and failing miserably to not think about Jace or Aline or anything even remotely related to either of them.

Like I said: I was failing miserably.

I sorted through the few clothing items I had, only to discover that I didn't have anything even reasonably suitable. (And by suitable, I mean slutty-I-want-you. It was the best way to get my mind off Jace.) I decided I would be better off if I went to my mother's closet; She was likely to have something that I could turn into a club outfit. I ended up putting on some black and silver contraption that was probably too short for anything but a club. I put on a simple pair of black flats (no way in Hell would I ever be able to wear heels) and a necklace with rows of silver chains. I dusted on a little mascara but nothing else, yet was still surprised by the end result. The dress contrasted beautifully with my hair, and for a moment I forgot about all that I'd seen with Jace.

But only for a moment.

Thankfully, Cara was at my house only ten minutes after I'd gotten dressed, so I didn't have to dwell on it too much.

I hurried into her car, doing a double take when I saw what she was wearing. It was a skimpy red dress with spaghetti straps that reminded me of Isabelle's dress from the dance and black platform heels. The way her hair was all huge and poofy (I really don't know how else to describe it) she almost reminded me of a Texas hooker. But, you know, classier.

She giggled as she started racing down the street. "Trust me, you'll love Pandemonium. Best place ever."

I raised an eyebrow. "That's what prostitutes say, except instead of 'Pandemonium,' they say-"

"Okay, okay, yeah, I get it. Fine, how about this? Pandemonium is and exceptional club. And there are very hot guys that make it easy to get over _other_ very hot guys."

I rolled my eyes but changed the subject and we just chatted idly until we got to the club.

As soon as I saw it, I knew it would be perfect to get my mind off Jace. The line was huge, and you could hear the music pounding even from outside. We spotted Kyle, who's eyes raked over us both appreciatively, and easily made our way in. (What can I say? Cara know how to flirt when she needs to, and it's not too hard to follow her lead.)

As soon as we were inside, Kyle went off to get a drink, and Cara dragged me straight to the dance floor. We were obviously attracting a lot of attention, and although normally that would have made me uncomfortable, tonight it just made me feel...Kind of powerful. Like I was in control for once.

And I also felt a little happy that I could get someone besides Jace's attention.

I watched Cara for a few seconds, and was surprised by what I saw. What she was doing couldn't be described in any way except 'sexy dancing.' Cara was always the sweet and innocent one, the one that was always neutral and was always the peacemaker in fights. Yet here she was, grinding and swaying her hips all by herself.

"Come on, Clary! You're the one that wanted to come here." She gave me a wicked smile. "And don't think I don't know why you wanted to come here. And if you want to forget about Jace, then we're going to make that happen."

I groaned as I started to dance with her, wondering what she had in mind. After all, I'd always thought that every girl can have a devious mind at some point when it comes to guys.

In less than two minutes we seemed to have a circle of admirers, almost all male, surrounding us as we all danced. I wasn't entirely sure where Kyle had disappeared to, but I thought I caught a glimpse of him as I bumped my hips against Cara's.

Thankfully this wasn't a techno club or anything like that, so they started playing a song both Cara and I knew. We sang out the lyrics as we danced, not loudly but not exactly quietly either.

_Oh oh, I want some more_

_Oh oh, what are you waiting for?_

_Take a bite of my heart tonight_

When the song ended and a new one neither of us knew started, we slowly made our way off the dancefloor to get something to drink.

Cara flashed a smile at the bartender. "Two shots of tequila?" She asked hopefully.

He raised an eyebrow, and I noted that he was rather good looking. "Sure. As long as I see some I.D. first."

Cara smiled again. "If we didn't have I.D., we wouldn't have been allowed in here."

The bartender smiled too, and I noticed that he had adorable dimples that lit up his tanned face. "It's an all-ages club." He pointed out. "So how about I get you two some Cokes?"

For some reason, I found myself speaking. Normally I'd be too shy, but I was pissed off tonight and this guy seemed like a very good way to get me un-pissed. I was still surprised to find myself speaking so casually, yet with a subtle flirty lilt in my voice. "Well, see, there's this teeny little problem with that. I'm more of a Pepsi girl."

The bartender smirked slightly, and out of the corner of my eye I saw Cara doing the same thing, although her eyes looked a little confused. "Well that's just too bad, because we only serve Coke products here. I could get you some Mountain Dew, though."

I gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine...." He grinned at me and went to the other end of the bar to get our drinks.

Cara turned to me. "So, finding a new distraction, are we?"

I smiled a little. "They always say that the best way to get over a distraction is to go and find another one."

She quirked an eyebrow. "So Jace was just a distraction, huh?"

"Yes," I said firmly. "A distraction that I need to get rid of. A distraction that I got tired of and now hate."

Cara smiled wryly at me. "I'm not sure what he did, Clary, but you know what they say. The line between love and hate is a very thin one." I scoffed as the bartender turned back towards us. Cara grabbed her drink and innocently said, "Oh, hey, I see Kyle!" Then she pranced away with a significant look directed towards me, subsequently leaving me alone with the bartender.

On one hand, I was happy she was gone. On the other, what she'd said bothered me deeply. _Love_? I scoffed again as I turned back to the bartender.

He smiled as he gave me my soda. "Not very subtle, is she?"

I rolled my eyes as I took a sip. "Subtlety's not really her specialty." I gave him an appraising look as I openly checked out his looks. I didn't know where all this confidence had come from, although I could guess. Either Jace's attitude was starting to rub off on me, or this was just my version of a temper tantrum. "So, bartender, want to tell me your name so I can stop calling you 'bartender'?"

He flashed me a smile and leaned forward a little on the bar. "It's Carter. Want to tell me your name so I can stop thinking 'fire truck'?"

I giggled a flirty little giggle. "Fire truck? That's a new one, but sorry, it's not my name. I generally go by Clary."

"Hmm. Clary. I lie that better. It's a lot shorter."

I rolled my eyes and said innocently, "Was that a comment against my height, bartender?"

"Not at all, miss fire truck, not at all."

"Sure...."

He smirked, and I had to admit that it looked good on him.

But no where near as good as it looked on Jace.

I took his hand and said firmly, "You're dancing with me."

He chuckled as I pulled him around the bar. "Well, I guess I could spare a few minutes...."

What should have been a few minutes turned into an hour. We were standing very close together due to the dancefloor that had filled up quickly, his hands on my hips and mine resting on his chest. As we swayed, he leaned his head closer to mine. I was just about to press my lips to his when I heard a voice say quietly in my ear, "You might not want to look now, but we've got company."

I looked up and saw Cara looking to the right. I followed her gaze to meet a pair of tawny eyes not ten feet away from me.

Jace.

I made a frustrated noise. "I go out of the _county_ to get away from him and he _still _manages to interrupt my life!"

Carter's hands were still on my waist, and I could see Jace glaring at them. Isabelle, Alec, Sebastian, and the whore herself were all standing near him. I could see Aline smirking and looking smug and Isabelle looked faintly disgusted. Alec's expression hurt the most, I think, because he didn't look angry like Jace. He looked disappointed.

"Sorry, Clary. I didn't think any of them would be coming tonight. They never come on Thursdays."

I grimaced as I took my hands off of Carter's chest, although he kept his hands on my waist. Jace and the whole group had gotten closer, and I shouted over the music, "What, are you all stalkers now?"

Isabelle laughed and I heard her mutter to Aline, "Told you she was full of herself."

Jace barely spared them a glance, he was just staring intently at Carter, specifically his hands. "Clary, back away slowly and move over behind Alec." He said to me tightly.

I scoffed. "What, you can grope Aline while you shove your tongue down her throat in plain sight and I can't even _dance_ with a guy?"

Jace's eyes flashed to my face, shocked. "What?" He asked dumbly.

I laughed meanly. "You were _there_, Jace. Or have you just had too many conquests to remember them all?"

"What are you talking about?" He whispered. His face looked pained, and I almost wanted to hug him.

But I was too pissed off for that. "You. Aline. On your front porch tonight." Jace opened his mouth to say something, but I just kept going. "I was just sitting outside my house, enjoying the peace, when the man whore and the slut come outside to have a grope-fest on the porch." I smiled in a sickly sweet way. "And when you went back inside, I bet she gave you a nice little blow-job, didn't she?" I could see Alec looking a little confused; He knew this wasn't me. _I_ knew this wasn't me. But being angry was a lot easier than being hurt.

"Clary," Jace whispered, looking like he was about to cry. "Just please come over here, and I'll explain everything. Please." He sounded so desperate and sad that I was about to comply.

But Carter, who I'd all but forgotten, tightened his grip on my waist. "I don't think so." He said casually. I looked back up at him, and he was staring at Jace with one of those arrogant and bored looks. "See, I've decided that I'd rather enjoy having a redhead. They're always so feisty." He raised an eyebrow and gave me a look that made me shiver.

And not in the good way.

"And your little hero team just makes me want her even more." I was starting to get seriously freaked out, and I started to struggle in earnest to get away from Carter. He just held on tighter, and I knew it was going to leave bruises.

Faster than I could see, Jace had pounced on Carter, effectively pulling me away from him and pushing me away. I stumbled into Alec as we watched Jace punch Carter with all he had.

Then Jace stood up quickly, put an arm around my waist, and practically ran out the doors.

He shoved me into his car and started it while I could see Isabelle and Alec getting in Kyle's car and Aline, Sebastian, and Cara all getting into their own cars. I didn't have time to see anything else, though, because Jace started rushing down the street.

We drove for ten minutes in silence before I finally got the courage to speak. "What...What the hell was that?" I asked in a shaky voice.

Oh, real nice, Clary. Real _original_.

Jace sighed. "That...He was a demon, Clary. I should've sent him back to his own dimension, but I couldn't even knock him unconscious because we were in public."

"Oh." We were silent for another few moments.

"What were you doing with him, Clary?" Jace finally asked in a strained voice. "I know you didn't know what he was, but..."

I sighed. "It's none of your business." I snapped, although my voice didn't have any bite in it.

"Clary..."

He sounded so pained that I reached over and took his hand. He looked surprised for a moment before he entwined our fingers together and rested them in between us.

It was silent again before Jace said, "You never answered my question."

I sighed but knew that I would be better off if I just told him. "I was upset, Jace. When I saw you with Aline, I felt....something that I have no right to feel. And it was easier for me to flirt with some random guy than think about you." My cheeks flamed with shame and embarrassment.

Jace gave me a wry smile. "Clary, you have every right to be angry. Haven't I told you before? You're the _only_ one that has any right. And if it makes you feel any better," He added, "Seeing you with that guy didn't exactly make me feel very happy, even before I realized that he was a demon."

I sighed again as Jace started rubbing circles on my hand with his thumb.

Yes, the line between love and hate is a very thin one.

**Want to tell me what you thought? Press the weird little button down there that isn't so pretty anymore because they had to change it.**

**And sorry if I suck at explaining the dresses they wore, but I have the links on my profile if you want to see how I pictured them.**


	15. HELPHELPHELP

**I really, really, really hate to do this, but I had to put an AN up. Don't worry, the next chapter will be up sometime before Sunday, so you don't have to get all freaked out that this is me saying I'm going on hiatus or anything. But I need help!!**

**I need a female name. I'm writing something because my friend encouraged me to write something on my own, so it has nothing to do with fanfiction, but I can't seem to think of a name for the main person! Right now I have Catalina Merser, but I'm not sure if I'm happy with it. And I also need a name for her foster sister, who's name is Ella Fairen right now. PLEASE!! HELP ME THINK OF SOMETHING ELSE!!!**

**(And if anyone wants to read what I've written so far and tell me whether it's complete crap and I should just start over, just let me know. I need some opinions before I end up wasting a bunch of time on some peace of crap.)**

**(And don't worry, writing it won't interfere at all with this story.)  
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	16. Fixed

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who helped with the whole name dilemma, it was almost impossible to choose with all the choices I got! I ended up changing the main character's name to Hayley Merser (not entirely if anyone suggested that, but I liked it) and I changed the sister's name to Heidi while the main guy's name is Gabriel. (Both suggested by Serenity Shadowstar)**

**It's pouring rain right now and our power is most likely going to go out soon, since half the street's has, but I have a full battery. And sorry if you don't like the chapter, but the rain is inspiring me.**

**And yes, Alana-Banana1987, it IS a roller coaster.  
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**Songs:**

**Everything You Want- Vertical Horizon  
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**Secrets- OneRepublic (I highly suggest that you listen to this)  
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**Clary POV**

I watched the rain drip down the sides of my window, refusing to focus on anything else. The joy from finally getting off this stupid roller coaster Jace had long passed, and I'd gone back to thinking about how I would tell him about Valentine and why he had been kissing Aline. And I didn't particularly like either of those topics, so I'd taken to staring at some of the pounding raindrops slip down my window.

It was peaceful, really, and it calmed me down. When I'd first started thinking about Aline and Jace, well...You can imagine that I wasn't a very happy person. But sitting and just listening to the rain made me feel more serene and level-headed.

And although that level-headedness (Is that even a word?) should have made it easy for me to think of a way to tell Jace about my father, I felt like prolonging the inevitable. I didn't want to imagine all the different ways he could react, all the ways it could go wrong.

So I'd decided to hole myself up in my room and listen to the storm. Pathetic? Probably. Did I care? Not at all.

The phone started ringing, and I was the only one home, I probably should have answered it, but I just let it go to the answering machine. Even from downstairs, I could hear Jace's faintly amused voice.

"Clary, I know you're home, considering I drove you. And then there's the little fact that I can see your light right now." I smiled a little and went to flick off my light and stand by window. I could see a faint outline in Jace's window as I heard him laugh into the answering machine. "Hmm. I guess your light just magically turned off."

"Of course it did." I murmured to myself, watching a drop of rain as it rolled down the window.

"Anyways, I'm not really sure what you're doing, probably drawing some picture of the beautiful and almighty Jace. And if that's what you're doing, then I'm glad you didn't answer. It would be a total disgrace." I could hear someone yelling in the background of the message. "Gosh. Fine. Okay, so the actual reason I was supposed to call is because Mayrse wants you to come over tomorrow afternoon for some training. And if you don't come, then she'll just come to you. And Mayrse with seraph blades is scary. So I suggest you come over tomorrow." Then his tone took on a devilish hint and I knew he was smiling. "And when she's done, we can have some fun of our own. See you tomorrow, Annie."

I heard a click as he hung up and the message ended, and I went to sit back down on my bed. Crossing my legs, I contemplated whether or not I should really go over to the Lightwoods tomorrow. I didn't really believe that Mayrse would force me into it, but if I didn't go, Jace would probably come to drag me over.

I knew that I would have a hard time hiding something so big from Jace; It was why I'd been so reluctant in the first place, why I'd started ignoring him. Why I considered doing it again.

But then I realized something.

Jace was worth it.

* * *

**Jace POV**

It was two in the morning, and it was STILL raining!! And because of that rain, it was two in the morning and I was still asleep. Clary had finally turned her light off somewhere around eleven, (after turning it back on five minutes after I finished the message) but I didn't think she was asleep.

I really hoped she wasn't avoiding me again, although when she turned off her light it had obviously been a joke, so I wasn't too worried.

But Clary was hiding something, and the fact that she thought I would kill her for it stung much more than I wanted it to. Things like that shouldn't bother me, and they never had before.

Of course, that was the Before-Clary time period. Before that stupid little green-eyed red-haired sassy midget had to come into my life and change everything.

Then again, I could hardly imagine what it would be like without her now.

And for her to think I would hurt her....

But if she really thought I was going to hurt her, would she have let me kiss her when I'd dropped her off tonight?

Gah! Jace Wayland should never be this confused over a girl.

So I just sat there and cleared my mind, listening to the rain, and made sure to thank the Angel that tomorrow was Saturday.

* * *

"Jace! Get your stupid ass out of bed!"

Ah, a screaming Isabelle is something we all want to wake up to. I glanced at the clock, and, seeing it was past noon, jumped up to hop in the shower. I knew Clary probably wouldn't get here anytime before two o'clock, and I wanted to talk to her alone first.

Of course, the whole shower theory didn't work out so well. I stepped inside and turned the knob, just so I could get freezing cold water blasted onto me. I yelped, shouting out a few choice swear words.

Upon hearing my scream, Isabelle and Alec both burst into the room.

And if course, all of this had to happen _after_ I'd taken my clothes off.

Alec turned bright red as he looked at the ceiling and I tried to cover up. Isabelle just rolled her eyes and tossed me a towel.

"What's with the screaming, you sissy? Did you find a spider in the shower?"

"Ha ha. You're hilarious, Isabelle." I responded sourly. "Actually, no, no spiders. Sorry to disappoint you. I know how much you like to eat them." I flashed her a grin as I ducked to avoid the brush she threw at me. "It just seems that you used up all the hot water, Izzy."

She smiled sweetly at me. "Did I? Oopsie daisies."

I glared at her. "Yeah. You did. Now get out. I have things to do, people to see, all that fun stuff." I shooed them both out, Alec still bright as a tomato, and got dressed.

As I was about to leave my room, I heard thunder crackle hard enough to shake the windows. "Great. More rain." I grumbled to myself, wondering how the fact that it was still storming could have escaped my notice as I walked down the stairs and out the door.

I sprinted next door to Clary's house, feeling the freezing rain pierce my skin through my clothes. I hopped up on to the porch and knocked on the door. I stood there for a minute until she finally opened the door.

I smiled as I took her in; She was only wearing black short-shorts with a neon green tank top. Her hair was slightly disheveled, like she'd been running, and she was barefoot.

She stared at me blankly for a few seconds. "You look like a drowned cat."

I grinned. "Want to let the kitty inside so he doesn't drown?"

Clary rolled her eyes, but opened the door farther anyways. "You know, I think 'cat' perfectly describes you. Lazy and agile and they never shut up." She turned to me with speculative eyes as we walked into the kitchen. "Maybe I should start calling you kitty."

I gasped in mock horror. "No, please no!"

She smiled and sat down in one of the chairs, pulling a leg up under her. Then she frowned at me. "You're dripping."

I looked down to see she was right. Drops fell down, making an almost calm noise as they did so. I looked back up at her and shrugged nonchalantly. "What can I say? I'm a cat, so therefore I am lazy."

She rolled her eyes again as I sat down next to her. "Why exactly are you here?"

"What, I can't just come and see my own girlfriend when I feel like it?" I wasn't looking at her, but I knew that she started when I said 'girlfriend'. Hell, I almost started. I don't think I'd ever really applied that word to any girl before, but I felt right applying that word to Clary.

I finally looked up at her to see that her eyebrows were raised. "I didn't know that we'd agreed on that yet."

I smiled. "I thought we had. Are you saying that you don't want to be my girlfriend?" I asked, pouting in mock hurt.

She rolled her eyes for the third time and responded, "I never said that. I just think it would be nice for both parties to know that they're actually dating. This way, if I see you making out with Aline again, I'm _allowed_ to get angry. You know, you never did explain why you were with her last night." Was it really last night?

I flinched as she gave me a challenging look. "First of all, I won't even be touching her ever again. And second, last night...You were ignoring me and I thought it was never going to work out between us and I was angry...Aline was a distraction. Not a very good one, because I just kept comparing her to you, but it was the only way I could think of to get you off my mind." I looked her in the eye as I leaned a little closer. "But you can trust me, you will _never_ have to worry about Aline. Or any other girl, for that matter."

I brought my hands up to cradle her face and leaned closer until my lips were an inch from hers, and I waited. I sat perfectly still, letting her be the one to decide.

After many agonizing moments, Clary leaned forward and pressed her lips softly to mine. I pressed back, afraid to put any more pressure on her lips for fear of her just disappearing.

Because that was practically what had happened last time. We'd kissed, and then she hadn't said anything to me for weeks. And then she started spewing crap about how I would kill her if she told me who her father was....

Aren't I just completely clueless sometimes?

We eventually broke apart, and she gave me a breathtaking smile.

"Well, if that's your solution to drag me over to your house, then maybe I should refuse more often." She said, still smiling.

I smirked. "Yes." I pressed my lips to hers. "You definitely should." I murmured as I deepened the kiss.

I knew she was hiding something. I'd be an idiot if I didn't. But I also knew that it wasn't important right now, because she was here, in my arms, and she wasn't running away this time.

Of course, I would need to know that little secret eventually. Then again, everyone has their secrets, right? The Angels know I do.

**I'm sorry it's so short, and I know I said I would update yesterday, but fanfiction wouldn't let me log on. And I stayed home sick today because I've been throwing up since three in the morning. This is almost as bad as the whole getting a concussion on my birthday thing! But anyways, if you vote in my poll and review, maybe I'll be inspired to make another chapter today. Not like I have anything better to do.**

**VOTE!!! REVIEW!!!  
**


	17. You Look Better When I'm Drunk

**A/N: Sorry, I know that it's a little late, but considering it's almost the end of the school year, (19 days left!) everyone's piling on the projects. I think that right now I have 8 total, and we're going to get another one next week. And we're starting debate this week, which is supposed to be really hard for the class I'm in.**

**But I'm proud, because I finally finished the first chapter and part of the second one of my random story that my friend won't let me trash. (Yeah, that only took me what, three weeks?)  
**

**Anyways.....**

**Songs:**

**You Look Better When I'm Drunk- The White Tie Affair  
**

**Mockingbird- Rob Thomas**

* * *

**Jace POV**

Is it really so impossible for me to get some peace for once? I mean, yeah, I usually like to be in the center of things, but there are times when even I like to be left alone.

I was enjoying a night to myself on Friday, as Mayrse and Robert had gone out to dinner and Isabelle and Alec had taken Max to some kind of convention. Clary had gone with just for the fun of it. (Since when are conventions fun?)

I was sitting in the basement, watching something stupid on TV, (I remember when I first discovered what TV really was. We'd never had one at the Institute.) when I heard someone clomping down the stairs.

"Jace!"

I didn't need to turn around to know that it was Aline, but I turned around anyway and sighed. "What do you want, Aline?"

She sauntered towards me, giggling a little. "I think that should be pretty easy to figure out."

I rolled my eyes. "And I think it should be pretty easy to figure out that I'm not interested."

She giggled again. "You seemed pretty interested that night on the porch."

I made an angry noise. "That was a momentary brain spasm. I...blacked out. Had no idea what was happening. My actions cannot be blamed on me."

"Well, how about you 'black out' again? I could use some fun tonight." She slurred.

"Aline....Are you drunk?"

"Nope. I know you're too noble to do anything with someone who's drunk, so I stopped at one shot."

"How big was the shot?" I muttered as she stepped closer and I stepped back.

She pouted. "Oh, come on, Jace." She steps forward. I step back. "Have a little fun with me." Forward. Back.

"I _was_ having fun." I snarled. "But you ruined that." Forward. Back.

She sighed. "This is about that stupid redhead, isn't it?" Her eyes suddenly seemed sharper, and it seemed like she was really focusing now. "You know that she'll never be one of us. It's never going to happen. She's going to get herself killed."

I refused to think about that. But no, Clary wouldn't get herself killed. She was learning. And I would be there to make sure she was okay.

Oh, Jace Wayland, where have you gone?

"Jace, she's not like us." Aline continued edgily. "She doesn't know anything about our world, and she doesn't know anything about you." She stepped forward and I stepped back again, only to find myself backed up against the wall. _Damn_.

She stepped forward again and put a finger on my arm, trailing it up and down. "See, I know that you don't liked to be tied down. It's easier to just have a physical relationship with you. So how about we get...physical?"

I wanted to burst out laughing, because that line reminded me of some stupid song. But then I realized that I knew Aline wasn't going to go anywhere, no matter what I said.

I sighed and side-stepped her, walking over to the cabinet and pulling out a bottle of alcohol. I didn't really look at the label, it wasn't like I cared. It would get me drunk either way.

I sat on the couch with Aline next to me, turned on the TV, and drank straight from the bottle while I contemplated.

I didn't deserve Clary. And Clary deserved more than what I could ever give her. I was an arrogant ass (Gasp! I admitted it!) who didn't even really know what a real relationship was. Aline was right; I never like to get attached to people. To love is to destroy.

I've always believed that, because that's what was fed to me when I was a kid. When you love someone, you're vulnerable. And when you're vulnerable, it's easy for someone to betray you.

Then again, I didn't really think Clary was like that.

But I haven't always been the best judge of character, especially when it comes to girls. Especially when it comes to adorable redheads who talk back and don't take any of my crap and do their best to deflate my huge-ass ego....

Of course, I've only ever known one girl like that, and nothing's really happened yet, so I can't exactly tell whether or not I'm a good judge of character when it comes to people like Clary.

Angel, please help me make something of the mess that is considered my mind.

* * *

Everyone knows that when you're drunk, everything is a lot funnier. Like, I've never really though of Aline as someone who would joke around and say funny stuff, she was more of a calmer version of Kaelie. But now, I seemed to be giggling like a schoolgirl every time she opened her mouth.

And watching TV is pretty hilarious too. You see this stupid commercial about butter and than you're suddenly on the floor laughing. And whenever they show those emotional nutella commercials?

Oh my God, I think I'm going insane.

No more alcohol for Jace.

Except Aline was practically shoving it down both of our throats, and I wasn't really stopping her.

I was definitely starting to get drunk, and all of my thinking was starting to get hazy. Why was I suddenly thinking about Italy.

Because Italy would be a pretty cool place to go.

"Hey, Jace, we should go and get on a plane and like, go to Canada or something."

My eyes lit up. "Oh! That's the maple leaves country! Maple leaves are cool."

She giggled. "Yeah." She leaned closer to me so that her face was right in front of me.

You know, I've never exactly been repulsed by Aline, but I've never exactly looked at her or thought about her that way before. I mean sure, I'd kissed her, but that was because I was trying to get my mind away from Clary.

But everything looks better when you're drunk, and Aline was right in front of me. Her cleavage was, too.

"So, Jacey," She giggled and continued whispering seductively. "Still not interested?"

Like I said, everything looks better when you're drunk. Granted, she was no Clary, but Clary wasn't here right now.

And I don't like to get close to people. I was getting too close to Clary, and that wasn't okay with me. I'd been raised to believe that you should never let yourself fall in love. Love gives someone the power to break you.

And besides, I was Jace Wayland. I liked _all_ girls, not just some redheaded Little Orphan Annie doppelganger. (I'm not even sure what that means, but I'm pretty sure it works in this sentence. See what happens when I get drunk? My brain gets very confused.)

So I leaned forward and pressed my lips to Aline's.

**I know that it's horribly short, but I figured I've kept you waiting long enough. I'm sorry about the bad update, but we've had some family stuff going on, (And what do you know? It's somehow my fault. Isn't it always? My family is just...messed up. And I didn't even do anything this time!) and they've been piling on the projects at school, and there's some major drama going on that I somehow got mixed up in. But it's almost the weekend, and I promise to get you a better chapter by Sunday.**

**And I don't blame you if you don't want to review. **


	18. No More Good Day

**A/N: I swear, it's always 'Blame the teenager' in my house. No, it's not my fault that the rest of the family is angry. It's not my fault that you can't seem to spend money on anything other than vodka!**

**Anyways, I was amazed at how many of you actually reviewed last chapter. Thank you! And yes, I know Jace is a little OOC in this chapter, but bare with me. It won't be for long, and if you really hate it that much, you can tell me by pressing that weird little blue button! (That I liked so much better when it was green.)  
**

**Songs:**

**Cooler Than Me- Mike Posner**

**Release Me- Tonic**

**You Look Better When I'm Drunk- The White Tie Affair (Yes, again. It just works.)  
**

**

* * *

**

**Jace POV**

Aline reacted intensely, moving her lips with mine roughly and pressing her chest against me. I knew I should be stopping this, but what was the point? Clary was too good for me, she could act like an actual human being. (Not that either of us is actually human....Whatever.)

I kind of just sat there numbly, moving my lips against hers every once in awhile. She reached down between us and started unbuttoning her shirt, sliding it off and onto the ground somewhere.

I heard giggling from somewhere upstairs, which should have meant something, but in my drunken state it barely registered. By now, Aline was straddling me, still pushing her chest against mine.

I suddenly felt something hit the back of my head._ Hard._ I pulled away from Aline to see a book sitting on the couch, and when I turned around I saw Isabelle standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking extremely livid.

Her eyes flickered between me, Aline, and the empty bottle of alcohol. "You are so lucky I'm not Clary." She hissed as she picked up Aline's shirt and threw it at her. "Get out now, Aline. And do it quietly."

Aline stood up, pouting, and put on her shirt. She leaned down to press her lips to mine, and although I didn't kiss her back, I didn't exactly stop her either. Isabelle reached forward and yanked her off, pushing her towards the stairs. As Aline stumbled up them, Isabelle turned to me.

"_What the fuck was that_?" She hissed at me.

"I...I don't really know." I answered honestly. I brought a hand up to the back of my neck and started rubbing it. It felt like Aline had left claw marks or something. "There were so many drinks and then we were....It just happened."

Isabelle laughed bitterly, although she was still being quiet. "You realize that's the excuse everyone uses. It just happened. I was drunk. I don't remember."

I looked up at her hopelessly. "Isabelle, it doesn't even matter. Nothing is ever going to work with Clary. Something like this would have happened eventually, Izzy. It's who I am." I felt completely and utterly pathetic right now. This wasn't something that had ever happened before, and maybe it was because I was drunk, but I couldn't seem to handle being my normal charming self.

Izzy sighed as she sat down next to me and gave me a sad smile. "No, it's not who you are, Jace. You don't generally feel guilty about anything, ever, and I know you're feeling guilty right now."

"So what if I am." I muttered angrily.

She sighed again, and she spoke she sounded weary and tired. "Jace, you know that Clary is the only one you'll ever feel this way about." She looked up at me, and I swear that she was about to cry. "Just promise me you won't do it again." She practically begged. "Promise me you will never do anything like this again, and I won't say anything. She really likes you, Jace, and I know that neither of us wants her to get hurt. So promise me right now."

I looked away and stared at the table, wondering what I should do. No, I didn't want to hurt Clary. But for all I knew, something like this could happen again. And Isabelle might not be there to bail me out.

But no. I knew that nothing like this was ever going to happen again. I just had to think of Little Orphan Annie, who was most likely right upstairs at the moment, to know that this would never be a repeated scene in my life.

I sighed. "I think I'm in love with her, Isabelle."

Izzy laughed, and even though I wasn't looking at her, I knew she was looking very smug. "Yeah, because none of us knew that." She said sarcastically and I glared at her. Then she got a kind of thoughtful look. "Although I never thought this day would come." She sounded like she was talking to herself more than me right now. "Jace Wayland/Lightwood/Herondale has finally admitted that he's in love."

"I said I _think_ I'm in love with her." I mockingly scoffed.

Izzy rolled her eyes but then turned serious again. "I'm not kidding when I say this, Jace, so listen carefully. If you ever do anything to hurt Clary, I will tell her what happened tonight, and then I will hunt you down, stab you with my seraph blade in the leg, and then shove you in a basement cellar for the rest of your life. And I won't give you any mirrors, either."

I sighed. "What would I do without my mirrors? I'd never get to see my own beautiful face again." She raised an eyebrow. "No, nothing like this is ever going to happen again. And if it does," I added solemnly, "I'll be _helping_ you shove me in the cellar."

* * *

I didn't see Clary at all for the rest of the night; After the conversation with Isabelle I went straight to my room and I was pretty sure that she was already asleep, anyways. In the morning, I got up somewhere around five and went downstairs to sit on the couch and wait.

I knew that I was going to have to talk to her, and I didn't want it to seem like there was something wrong, no matter how guilty I felt. I didn't want to hurt Clary, and if she knew what had happened last night, she would probably never talk to me again.

I was starting to think that stupid mundane things like aspirin didn't work; I'd woken up with a huge hangover and the only thing I could find to fix it was Advil.

But that all seemed to go away as Clary stepped down the stairs, her hand in her hair as she yawned. She was wearing blue and black plaid flannel pajama pants and a black tank top that clung to her in very distracting places.

She saw me and smiled saying, "Looks like someone had a little too much to drink."

I froze for a moment but regained my composure. "Yeah...No more alcohol for Jace." I sad sheepishly.

She walked over and sat down next to me on the couch, folding her legs up under her. "Hey, at lease you can hold it. I know lots of people that end up puking after three drinks." She got a faraway look and her eyes started to get a little watery. She saw me looking and said, "I'm fine. I was just thinking about my best friends from back home. I miss him."

I scooted a little closer and put an arm around her. "Want to tell me anything about him?" The fact that it was a guy brought up an unfamiliar pang of jealousy, but I ignored it.

She smiled sadly. "His name was Simon. I guess he was a dork, but he's been my best friend for as long as I can remember. We went to this club once and after an hour, we were stuck in his bathroom while he puked and I brought him some Tums. I'd asked him if he'd had more than five drinks and he just said, 'No, I only had two and a half.'"

I grinned down at her. "You're right, that does make me feel better."

She rolled her eyes. "Good. Now you can tell me why I found Aline's bracelet in the basement."

I looked down at her to see her smirking slightly and her eyes had gone cold. I froze for a few seconds, then said, "What?"

"Aline. Her bracelet. In the basement." She replied, enunciating each word as if I was a child. "Right next to your empty vodka bottle. So I'm going to assume that she was here last night." She didn't sound happy, but she didn't sound particularly angry either, so I was hoping she hadn't guessed what had really happened.

I raised an eyebrow at her and said shakily, "Yeah, she was here last night. Wouldn't leave. So I had some alcohol, and she joined in. Her voice is a lot less annoying when you're drunk, you know."

She rolled her eyes again and her eyes lost their hard edge. "Well, Jace, looks like you've officially got yourself a stalker."

I had to fight not to breathe a sigh of relief, and I had to fight not to tell her the truth. "Well, what can I say? The girls. They just love me too much."

* * *

I spent the rest of the day with Izzy, Clary, and Alec while we just sat in the living room, watching TV and talking. I was slowly starting to feel a little bit better, it wasn't like I'd slept with Aline or anything, and just being with Clary again made me feel better.

"Have you ever just randomly asked someone if they could give you a purple unicorn?" Clary suddenly asked as they played one of those 'My Little Ponies' commercials.

I couldn't help but laugh, it was so unlike Clary. Actually, I don't think any of us would say something like that. Except possibly Kyle, but he wasn't here. Obviously.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Alec said, looking at her like she was crazy.

She rolled her eyes. "My friend and I, when we were in New York, we were just walking around everywhere. And then we went into this building, and there was this ridiculously long elevator ride, and we were kind of bored. There was this really serious-looking guy with us, and for some reason Simon couldn't stop laughing. So I just turned and asked the guy if he would give me a purple unicorn, and then he looked at me all weirdly while I tried not to laugh. Then he said that unicorns weren't real, so I screamed something about the Narwhal and told him he better give me a friggin' purple unicorn, and then the elevator opened and he ran out."

I looked at her incredulously. "You're not even kidding, are you?"

She shrugged. "Nope."

In between giggles, Isabelle said, "Never pegged you for a person who talks to strangers in elevators, Clary."

"Hey," She said defensively, "Normally I don't. But I'd just had a lot of Mountain Dew, and it was a really weird day...."

I chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "It's okay. I think unicorn-believers are cool."

She rolled her eyes at me. "I don't believe in the horse unicorns. That would just be ridiculous. But the Narwhal has often been called a water unicorn, so I was trying to prove to him that unicorns were real."

"By asking him if he would give you a purple one?"

"That was the only time I've ever done anything like that, okay? It was fun, but I don't exactly plan on doing it ever again."

Alec and I laughed while Isabelle flipped through channels, having tuned out the conversation. It was nice to know that even Clary did some weird things sometimes.

While Isabelle put on _The Vampire Diaries _**(Love that show! SOOO freaking angry at the way it ended. That was just cruel. But GO DAMON!) **I heard the front door open and then slam shut. Aline sauntered into the room, wearing clothes that were _way_ too tight. She came and sat right next to me, glaring at Clary and the arm I had around her.

Byebye, nice day. And I thought we were getting along so well.

"Aline," Isabelle said, her voice full of careful venom. "You can't just break into a person's house. It's considered breaking and entering."

"Jace didn't seem to mind it very much last night." Isabelle looked a little angry and Aline looked smug, until she noticed that Clary's expression was blank, not upset.

"Aline," I said testily, "You need to go. _Now_." _Before you say anything else_. I silently added. Clary looked up at me as I tightened my arm around her.

Aline smirked again but still had the nerve to look a little hurt. "This is because of your precious little redhead, isn't it? Well did you tell her how we got down and dirty last night?"

**So....Yeah. There's your chapter. See, I don't really consider that an evil cliffhanger, but that's just because I'm an evil person so anything that seems evil to the good people seems good to me.**

**And that unicorn things is true, by the way. I've done that more than once. Not in New York, but.....  
**

**Review! Or vote in my poll, I don't care which. (See? I'm not even asking you to do both!)  
**


	19. Crisis

**A/N: YAY! The laptop is back! Thank you guys for being so understanding. I feel really terrible about leaving it the way I did, but I can't really control how klutzy I am. (Believe me, I've tried. It honestly just makes it worse.)  
**

**And oh my frickin' gosh, I have over 180 reviews! Thank you so much, you guys are amazing. I tried to respond to everyone from my friend's house, but if I didn't, I'm really sorry.  
**

**Songs:**

**A Different Side Of Me- Allstar Weekend**

**Half Of My Heart- John Mayer ft. Taylor Swift**

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* * *

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**Jace POV**

I felt Clary stiffen against my body, and I glared at Aline as she smirked.

"Oh, yes, we had a little too much to drink, and then Jace got a little too grabby, and somehow my shirt ended up on the floor..."

"Yeah, because you tore it off!" Isabelle jumped in, looking livid.

Aline rolled her eyes. "More like Jace _begged_ me to take it off."

I heard Clary snort and looked down at her, but she wasn't looking at me. "Well, I'm pretty sure even a _drunk_ Jace wouldn't beg, no matter _what_ it was for." She leaned back, although she wasn't as close as before.

Isabelle stood up, looking determined but also a little grim. "Aline, get your lying ass out of our house._ Now_."

I'm not exactly sure what happened next, but it involved a lot of screaming. Somehow, Isabelle managed to throw Aline out.

When she walked back in, she glared at me a little bit and huffed, "Stop being so appealing to girls. Especially ones who are my friends."

Alec snorted. "Well, after that, I doubt she's your friend anymore."

Isabelle shrugged and gave me a meaningful look.

I knew what she'd just done for me. She'd lied and lost her friendship with Aline (Although they'd never really been very good friends to begin with) and risked her friendship with Clary. All to keep me happy.

Well, it probably had a little to do with Clary, too.

Which reminded me of something...

Clary was sitting with her arms crossed and glaring at the carpet. I wanted to move closer than her, but none of us knew what she thought, so I figured that it probably wasn't a good idea to test her right now.

Isabelle sighed and came over to the couch, squeezing her way in between us. "Look, Clary, Aline likes attention." She began, obviously thinking somewhere along the lines that I was. "And she's always had an..infatuation of sorts with Jace. He's never really had a real girlfriend before, so Aline was never too worried about it. But even she can see that he cares about you more than he's ever cared about anyone, and it bothers her that Jace would actually really want someone other than her. Aline's always been one to exaggerate things. I was there last night, and yes, Aline didn't have a shirt on, but Jace was yelling at her to put it back on and get the hell out."

Clary sighed and looked over at me reproachfully. "Isabelle's right. You need to stop being so appealing to girls."

I laughed in relief. "But if I wasn't so appealing, than I never would have gotten _you_."

She rolled her eyes. "If you weren't so appealing, you probably would have gotten me _sooner._"

We smiled at each other as Isabelle looked back and forth between us. She stood up, mumbling something about people being too cheesy these days, and walked out, dragging Alec with her. Clary sighed and moved a little bit closer to me, causing a huge smiled to erupt on my face. She noticed this and raised an eyebrow. I gasped, asking, "When did you learn how to do that?"

She smiled mischievously. "Not too long ago. Looks like you're falling behind in the 'I'm better at everything' contest."

I mock gasped. "Never. I shall return and win this contest!"

She smiled affectionately and shook her head a little bit. She looked up, and I could see that her eyes were a little more serious. "Jace...Please tell me that nothing happened with Aline."

Her face looked so vulnerable and she was practically pleading with me. I almost gave in. I almost told her the truth. I knew that she deserved to know.

But I'm Jace Wayland. I'm selfish, and I wanted to keep Clary. I wanted to stay with her, more than ever. More than I'd ever wanted to be with anyone.

It was in that moment that I realized that I was in love with Clarissa Fray.

And it was in that moment that I realized that if I said anything about what had really happened, Isabelle was likely to kill me with my own seraph blade.

So, instead of telling her exactly what had happened, I said, "Nothing happened, Clary."

She smiled softly and looked down, leaning into me as I placed an arm around. Looking down at her, I knew that it was better this way. No one got hurt, (Except for maybe Aline) and we could just put it all behind us. Forget that it ever happened.

But the one of the most important things you learn when you're a Shadowhunter?

That every secret comes out eventually.

* * *

**Clary POV**

I woke up somewhere around two in the morning, still sitting on the couch with Jace. He was asleep, so I tried to slip out from underneath his arm as silently as possibly, without jostling him. I walked into the kitchen and started to get something to drink, but was distracted by the window.

It was raining, but not in the annoying why-won't-you-stop way, and not in the equally annoying mistiness that makes you want more. It was the peaceful kind that always helped me think.

And now was the perfect time.

I hopped up onto the counter, crossing my legs and still staring out the window.

I've never really been in a situation like this, mostly because I've never actually had a boyfriend before. I've never had 'friends' like Aline, either, but I'd never really expected this of her. I'd seen that she was a little bit of a flirt, but that was true for many of the girls in my new (though I've been here for nearly two months, so it's not really new anymore) school. I'd never really seen that she had a thing for Jace, but maybe that was because I was too concerned about what Kaelie would do.

And that brings me to that subject. Kaelie hadn't done anything yet. And that worried me. It was obvious that she was planning something, but it was impossible to figure out what.

Unless...Maybe now she wouldn't need to. Or at least she _thought_ she wouldn't need to. Maybe this had all been planned. If I'd thought that Jace had cheated on me, then Kaelie wouldn't even have to do anything personally.

Which brought me back to the main topic. Had Jace really cheated on me? He'd told me that he hadn't, but I know enough about real life to know that that doesn't mean much. Jace is an arrogant ass, but I'd never really considered something like this. It was probably stupid not to have, but I guess I just never thought about it. We haven't really been together very long, and that probably should have been even _more _reason to think about it, but I hadn't thought that Jace really wanted anyone hear. He never seemed interested in Aline, that's for sure. Maybe there were times when I thought he might like Kaelie, but from what I'd seen, that changed pretty quickly.

But Jace was arrogant, and he himself had once told me that he wasn't one for relationships. Sure, he might have added 'until you came along,' but that didn't mean much. People lie all the time. It's how humans get through the day. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if he'd done it.

But the part that really confused me was Isabelle. I trusted her, and she was the first friend that I'd made here. She wouldn't lie about something like this, would she?

I wasn't really sure.

* * *

After I fell asleep on the couch, I'm not really sure what happened. I awoke to Isabelle yelling something and Jace's breath washing across my face, his voice in my ear, saying, "Come on, Annie. We need to get you home." He didn't wait for me to respond, just picked me up and walked out the door. I was still half-asleep, but I heard Alec yelling to Isabelle, telling her to get every seraph blade she owned, and her whip.

I'd been having lessons with Maryse long enough to know what this meant.

There was an attack. And it was close.

Jace jogged across both of our lawns and set me down on the porch, keeping a hold on my arms to make sure that I didn't fall over. He bent over to look in my eyes. "Clary, you have to listen to me." His voice came out husky and more serious than I had ever heard before. "I need you to stay in your house no matter what. Do not let _anyone_ in unless it's me, Alec, or Isabelle. Keep all the lights off, and try not to make too much noise. If someone calls, don't answer. And..." He hesitated, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a seraph blade. "Only use this if you need to." He said, his voice even quieter than before. "It's called Anaturou." And then he turned around and jogged back to his house, leaving me with the seraph blade.

I knew that something bad could happen. I knew that one of them could get hurt, that it was almost guaranteed that something would go wrong.

But something was pulling me into the house, giving me this feeling that overwhelmed every other feeling that I could possibly have.

I walked through the front hall, barely noticing that there were papers strewn all across the floor and that one of the windows was broken. I also failed to notice that our whole kitchen was practically ruined, that glass covered the floor, that every cupboard was open, and that one of the knives was sitting on the table and covered with red. Something was pulling me towards the living room, and I couldn't fight it.

There was a trail of blood that I followed, staring at it uncomprehendingly. But when I walked into the right room, what I saw made me want to shriek in terror.

My mother was lying on the floor, her eyes closed. There was blood all over her body, and in puddles around her, too. She was deathly pale, and I didn't need to check her pulse to know that she didn't have one anymore.

But then I remembered what Jace had said. I needed to keep quiet.

I think I was in a state of shock, because I wasn't really feeling anything. My mind had shut down, and the rest of me had gone on autopilot. It was then that I noticed the white piece of folded white paper that was right next to her. I leaned in carefully to grab it, trying not to look at her.

The outside of the note had my name written on it, and when I opened it up I could see the little blood spots. There was the pen on the floor near where I'd picked up the note from, so it was obvious that my mother had written this in her final moments.

_Clary,_

_I should have told you the whole truth. I shouldn't have hidden any of this from you, but I felt that it was the only way to protect you. _

_I'm sure the Lightwoods have told you about Valentine. How he experimented, how he fought, how he wanted everyone who defied him dead. He was even willing to kill any Shadowhunter who got in his way. He always thought, 'why bother trying to save them when I can just make more?' How everyone believes him to be dead._

_He's not._

_He's after the Mortal Instruments, Clary, and you've got to stop him. I don't know what he's going to do, or how he's going to get them, but I know you'll be able to figure it out, Clary. You were always smart. _

_And I know that you've figured out that he's your father by now. I can see it in your eyes every time you look at me. You hate the fact that I hid all of this from you. But what choice did I have? _

_You have to forgive me, Clary. You have to know that I didn't think any of this would ever happen. I was trying to hide you from him, even though I knew he'd find us one day. And he did. That's why we moved here, although I'm sure you've already figured that out._

_Find Magnus Bane. He'll help you piece everything together. Tell him what's happened, and he'll help you.  
_

_You have the Lightwoods, Clary. I trust them to keep you safe. Never forget that I love you, and I was only doing what I thought was best. _

I wept for my mother, because I knew she was truly gone. I wept because I had no idea what I was going to do, no idea who Magnus Bane was, no idea what was going on outside of my house.

And because no matter what my mother said, I was in this alone now.

**Sorry that it's short, but I figured it would be better to get the chapter up faster than to endure the angry mobs. And again, thank you for being so understanding. What can I say? I'm a klutz.**

**We're at 187! Can we make it to 190? I'd be a pretty happy yellow turtle if we did.**

**And I shall be back soon. Thursday is our last day of school.  
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	20. Numb

**A/N: I. AM. GOING. TO. MURDER. MY. FRIENDS. Remember that little outside story that I was writing that I asked for your help with? Well, my friends decided that since I had some pages done, they would send it to a freaking PUBLISHER. And then, I find out that once they stole it off my laptop, they sent it to FOUR publishers. So, again, I say, I AM GOING TO MURDER THEM. (And they already forced me to put what I've written onto a blog. Why do they have to send it to publishers, too?)  
**

**Anyways, thanks for the reviews! And all the other stuff, too. I love it when this story gets favorited!  
**

**Songs: (I suggest listening to these songs while read this!)  
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**My Immortal- Evanescence  
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**Airplanes- B.O.B. ft. Hayley Williams  
**

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**Clary POV**

I don't know what I did after I read that note, but I know that it involved Magnus Bane.

I had no idea who he was. I had no idea _what_ he was. I had no idea how he could help me, or why, but my mother told me to find him.

My mother has never let me into the basement of our new house. I've never known why, but I was about to find out. Somehow, I knew that she knew that this was exactly where I would go.

I walked down the steps in a kind of numb way, I don't think I even realized what was happening. Although there were a few things that I was realizing.

My father was the reason I'd had to move a way from my home. My father was the reason that I had to leave everything I owned behind.

My father was the reason my mother had hid this whole life from me.

My father was the reason why my mother was dead.

And even if I didn't want to admit it, my father was the reason that I'd met Jace and the rest of the Lightwood family.

But no matter what I thought about him, I couldn't be angry. I couldn't feel _anything._

The door at the end of the stairs was broken. Nothing seemed to be touched, though, when I walked into the room, so I wasn't sure if my father had made it down here.

And when I looked around, I figured that it would be a very _bad_ thing if he were to come in here.

The room was full of plenty of weapons that Maryse had yet to teach me to use. (Although I had been training regularly with her, just not with things so...sharp.) The walls we full with bookshelves, many of which looked like diaries of sorts, in which I assumed my mother had written things she didn't necessarily want anyone to read. There was desk in the center with papers strewn all around it, and I knew that this was the place where I was most likely to find something.

I walked over to it slowly, and for a brief moment, I blankly wondered what Jace, Isabelle, and Alec were doing right now. Where they done with whatever problem it was? If they were, I was really hoping that they would leave me alone for the night.

Then again, Maryse and Robert would be better at dealing with the...the body. I shuddered at the thought.

And then I went numb again.

But for that brief moment, I'd felt like screaming. I'd felt like screaming and crying and breaking everything in this stupid house. I'd felt going to find my father and taking my revenge.

I'd felt like I could kill him.

* * *

I sat in that room for hours, reading through all the papers. They surrounded me as I sat on the floor, until the sun rose. And then I stood up, walked up the stairs, and out the back door. I walked straight into the forest, kept walking for ten minutes, and numbly sat next to a random tree.

Angel blood. Demon blood. Experimentation. A brother who's God knows where, and who's just as ruthless as Valentine. The man who is supposed to be my father.

I guess I should just be grateful that he didn't give my mother demon blood while she was pregnant with me. True, he didn't know that she was pregnant, but still. If he was as ruthless as those notes say, (which I definitely believe) then who knows what he wold have done. He could have been trying to kill my mother with demon blood while she slept.

I'd read all the notes about Johnathan, how he followed orders, how my father had had to teach how to even seem human. I have no idea how my mother knew any of this, but I kept reading. Murder. Torture. The Mortal Instruments. Why my father wanted them.

I didn't really understand why he wanted all of the Downworlders dead. I knew that the reason the rest of the Shadowhunters tolerated them was because of The Accords, but it didn't seem like the Lightwoods hated them. Except for maybe Jace. (But I think that had more to do with the fact that he thought he was better than them, not that he hated them.)

I'd read for hours and hours, until I was too tired to read anymore. Until my eyes couldn't focus and the words got blurry. And when that happened, I stood up and walked back up the stairs, going out the back door to avoid having to see it all again. So now here I was, in this forest.

It reminded me of Simon, though I have no idea why. He'd been my best friend, and now I would probably never see him again.

"Clary!" It was the second time that I'd heard voices calling, but I couldn't find the energy. They weren't in the forest, so I assumed whoever the voices belonged to had already seen the house.

But as they persistently called, sounding deranged and panicked, I knew that I had to do something. So I got up and walked back the way I'd come, using the shouting voices to guide me.

I got back to the house quickly, and when I saw Jace, I knew that it hadn't been fast enough.

He looked more distressed than I'd ever seen, more distressed than I could ever have imagined. His hair was a mess, his face was flushed, and his eyes were darting around in such a panicky way that I wanted to rush to him and tell him everything was fine.

Except I think it was pretty obvious that it wasn't fine.

He finally saw me, and although he rushed over to me and gathered me into his arms, I could tell that he wasn't much less worried.

"Oh, Clary...We thought...We thought that he'd taken you, too." He murmured into my ear.

I robotically brought my arms up to hug him back as another voice shrieked my name and Isabelle ran over to hug me too. I noticed Alec standing in the background, looking more relieved than I'd expected. I knew that he wasn't my biggest fan, but I guess he cared a little more than I'd originally thought.

When they finally pulled away and looked at my face, all three of their expressions grew even more worried. I sighed and asked my question before any of them could speak.

"Do you guys know where I could find Magnus Bane?" I asked wearily.

They all looked surprised and caught off guard, but Alec quickly recovered and answered, "Yeah. He's the High Warlock of New York City. Why?"

I sighed again and looked away. "That's the problem. I don't _know_ why. My mother, she...she left a note. And she told me that I should go find him." My voice caught a little at the end.

Alec's brow furrowed. "I have no idea why she would do that, but I guess it's worth a shot. Our mom finally figured out who Jocelyn was, and when she did, she told us a few things. If your mom says we should go, then we should go."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "We?" I repeated. Then I paused. "YES! I FINALLY DID IT!" They all looked at me like...Well, like they wanted to cart me off to the funny farm. But I'd finally raised one eyebrow! Anyways..."We?" I said again.

"Yes, we. You're not going without us, especially not after what just happened." Jace cut in. He out an arm around my waist, and although I wanted to lean into him, I resisted the urge. Now really wasn't the time. My mother was dead. And I'd been thinking about how I could raise a single eyebrow?

I sighed for what felt like he millionth time that night. "Fine." Then I looked up at Jace. "Can I use your phone? I...I need to tell Luke."

Jace looked down at me, and his eyes were filled with so much love that it literally made me burst into tears.

Of course, that's not why I was crying, but still.

But I finally broke down. I'd gone the whole night without crying, without feeling, and I think that's what made it worse. I'd held it all in, and now all the emotions were flowing into me like a tidal wave. It was too much.

Jace held me while Alec and Isabelle said reassuring things to me.

The reality of everything came crashing down on me. I didn't have any family left, except for sadistic father and a demon brother, and now I didn't have anywhere to live, either. My mother, the woman who had raised me by herself for her whole life, dealt with my terrible tantrums and my neediness when I was little, was gone forever.

But worst of all, now I was basically alone in this mess. It's not like I could tell anyone most of what I'd read, about how my brother was alive even though people had no idea he existed, about how my mother had run away with me. And especially about how I had angel blood in me. Who knows what people would do with that kind of information.

When I didn't have any tears left, I stood up and said, "Then again, I can always call Luke tomorrow. If we're going to go see Magnus Bane, then we should go now.)

**Honestly, I think this chapter was an epic fail. I'm not sure why it turned out so bad, but I've got a idea. There's this little thing that's been bothering me...**

**Okay, so I got this anonymous review saying that in the beginning, my story was nice and original, but that now it kind of sucks and that Clary is way too moody, and that the story's not going anywhere. Now, reviews that aren't totally nice don't necessarily bother me, because I know that everyone's going to get them at some point, but I just want to know if that's how the rest of you feel.**

**And hey, my friends are kind of forcing me to put this out there, because they say I need feedback, but I guess I can't complain. Feedback's not a bad thing. Honestly, I think it sucks, but if you want to read this thing, then you can go here: **http:/seattlelover7writing(dot)blogspot(dot)com/


	21. Me Is Sorry

**I'm so sorry. You have no idea how bad I feel right now. But at least it's been less than a month!**

**Okay, so I need to ask you guys something. Do you really want all those chapters of everyone going to New York and getting the Mortal Instruments, or do you want me to end it with five or six more chapters? I'm not really sure what I should do, so I'm leaving it up to you guys. Just review or PM me. **

**But I'm warning you that if you want all those other chapters, I'll go on a short hiatus for the rest of the Summer, maybe with one or two chapters in there. It's Summer right now and I have a job, and it seems like I can never find time to write. Life just kinda gets in the way. **

**Feel free to bash me or flame me about the fact that this is not a chapter. **

**As soon as I update, I shall delete this AN and put the real chapter in. (And note that if I do just four or five more chapters or something like that, that I might be open to doing a sequel.)**

**SorrySorrySorry!**

**And also, I want to thank you so much! I have over 200 reviews! That's the best response that I've gotten from any of my stories. So thank you!  
**


	22. Cough cough

**Well, ain't this awkward?**

**Fanfiction was being a butt and not letting me log in for quite a bit. **

**And to be honest, I'm lazy. I've gotten into writing more original things, so there's not much time in my life for fanfiction. I'll do my best to update at least once a month, but let's be honest, life and school get in my way and my writing style has changed quite a bit since I've written fanfiction. I'm really sorry it's been so long. :P I'm trying to decide whether to continue these stories or just start some entirely new ones. Updates on anything will be slow, but I can promise that it won't take me almost a year to update again. :P**


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